🌎 THE HOSTS' FOOTBALL STORY
PAGE 1 OF 5 — MEXICO 1970: THE LEGENDARY TOURNAMENT
MEXICO HOSTS THE WORLD
MEXICO LIGHTS UP THE WORLD
Mexico became the first North American nation to host the FIFA World Cup in 1970, staging a tournament that many football historians still call the greatest of all time. The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, which had opened just four years earlier, hosted the final before a crowd of one hundred and seven thousand people, the largest audience ever to watch a World Cup final inside a single ground. Mexico's football story up to that point had been modest: they had qualified for several World Cups but never made it past the group stage. Hosting the 1970 tournament changed the nation's relationship with the sport forever. The matches were played in blazing afternoon heat to suit European television schedules, a controversial decision that made life extremely hard for the players but produced some of the most spectacular football ever seen. Brazil's squad that year, featuring Pele in his final World Cup, played attacking football so beautiful that coaches still study it half a century later. Mexico gave this magical tournament to the world, and the world never forgot.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
The 1970 World Cup final at Mexico's Azteca Stadium drew 107,000 spectators, the largest crowd ever to watch a World Cup final inside a single stadium. Brazil beat Italy 4-1 in scorching heat.
VIVA!
THE AZTECA
🏟️ Azteca held 107,000 fans in the final
🔥 Afternoon heat made players struggle
🇧🇷 Brazil won in the greatest ever final
🔥 Afternoon heat made players struggle
🇧🇷 Brazil won in the greatest ever final
TV TOURNAMENT
📺 First World Cup broadcast in full colour
🌍 16 nations, 32 matches, one iconic cup
⚽ Mexico wore green kits on home turf
🌍 16 nations, 32 matches, one iconic cup
⚽ Mexico wore green kits on home turf
PAGE 2 OF 5 — MEXICO 1986: TWICE THE HOST
MEXICO STEPS UP AGAIN
MARADONA'S WORLD CUP AND MEXICO'S FINEST HOUR
Mexico was never supposed to host the 1986 World Cup. Colombia had been awarded the tournament but withdrew in 1983 due to financial difficulties. Mexico stepped in as a replacement, becoming the first nation to stage the World Cup twice. Then a massive earthquake measuring eight point one on the Richter scale devastated Mexico City in September 1985, just nine months before the tournament. Around ten thousand people lost their lives and large parts of the city were destroyed. Yet Mexico rebuilt, the tournament went ahead, and it produced one of the most celebrated moments in football history. Argentina's Diego Maradona delivered genius in the quarterfinal against England: he first punched the ball into the net with his hand, claiming it was "the hand of God," and then four minutes later scored what was voted the Goal of the Century, dribbling from his own half past five English players before slotting into the net. Mexico's own team reached the quarterfinals, their best World Cup performance at that time, before losing on penalties to West Germany. It was a tournament that proved football's power to bring a nation together even in the face of disaster.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Despite a devastating earthquake just nine months before the tournament, Mexico rebuilt and delivered the 1986 World Cup on time. Maradona's Goal of the Century in that tournament is still considered the greatest individual goal ever scored.
LEGEND!
THE EARTHQUAKE
🌍 8.1 earthquake hit Mexico City in 1985
💪 Mexico rebuilt in just 9 months
🏆 Tournament went ahead as planned
💪 Mexico rebuilt in just 9 months
🏆 Tournament went ahead as planned
HAND OF GOD
✋ Maradona punched it in, called it "Hand of God"
⭐ Then scored the Goal of the Century
🇦🇷 Argentina won the whole tournament
⭐ Then scored the Goal of the Century
🇦🇷 Argentina won the whole tournament
MEXICO'S RECORD
🏅 Mexico reached the quarterfinals for first time
❌ Lost to West Germany on penalties
🌟 Best World Cup result as a host nation
❌ Lost to West Germany on penalties
🌟 Best World Cup result as a host nation
PAGE 3 OF 5 — USA 1994: THE RECORD-BREAKING PARTY
UNLIKELY HOST
🤔 USA had no top professional league in 1994
📺 Stadiums filled with over 68,000 per game
🌟 3.5 million total attendance, a world record
📺 Stadiums filled with over 68,000 per game
🌟 3.5 million total attendance, a world record
USA'S JOURNEY
🇺🇸 USA beat Colombia 2-1 at their own cup
🥈 Reached the round of 16 on home soil
⚽ MLS launched the following year as legacy
🥈 Reached the round of 16 on home soil
⚽ MLS launched the following year as legacy
USA 1994
AMERICA THROWS THE BIGGEST PARTY IN FOOTBALL HISTORY
When FIFA chose the United States to host the 1994 World Cup, many European football fans were outraged. America had no professional top-flight football league at the time, and experts doubted whether American audiences would fill stadiums. They were spectacularly wrong. The 1994 World Cup set a total attendance record of three point five million fans that still stands to this day, more than any other World Cup in history. Matches were played in massive American football stadiums in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Dallas, and every single game sold out. The Stanford Stadium in California averaged over sixty-eight thousand fans per match. On the pitch, the tournament delivered drama including the shocking moment when Diego Maradona was expelled after testing positive for a banned substance, and the final between Brazil and Italy went to penalties after neither team scored in normal or extra time. Brazil won and FIFA's gamble on America paid off brilliantly: the tournament planted football firmly in the American consciousness and led directly to the creation of Major League Soccer, the USA's professional league, the following year. America proved the doubters wrong in the most emphatic way imaginable.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
The 1994 World Cup in the USA set a total attendance record of 3.5 million spectators that still stands today, over 30 years later. No World Cup has ever beaten it.
YEEHAW!
PAGE 4 OF 5 — CANADA: FROM HOCKEY NATION TO CO-HOST
THE MAPLE LEAF JOINS IN
CANADA'S FOOTBALLING AWAKENING
Canada is known worldwide for ice hockey, curling, and vast frozen landscapes, but football has quietly been growing there for decades. In 2026 Canada will co-host the World Cup alongside the USA and Mexico, making it the first time the tournament has been jointly hosted by three nations spanning an entire continent. Canada's football history is modest but improving rapidly. The Canadian men's team qualified for their first World Cup in thirty-six years when they reached Qatar 2022, ending an absence stretching back to Mexico 1986, where they appeared but failed to score a single goal in three matches. At Qatar 2022 they played with real quality: striker Alphonso Davies, a young winger with explosive pace who grew up as a refugee in a camp in Ghana before moving to Canada as a five-year-old, became their star player and one of the most exciting young footballers in the world. Canada also won the 2022 CONCACAF Championships, their most significant trophy in decades. The women's team has been even more impressive, winning Olympic gold at Tokyo 2021 in one of the most dramatic penalty shootouts in football history. Hosting in 2026 is a chance to inspire an entire generation of Canadian children to fall in love with football.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
Alphonso Davies, Canada's star player, was born in a refugee camp in Ghana. His family moved to Canada when he was five. He grew up to become one of Europe's most exciting wingers, playing for Bayern Munich in Germany.
MAPLE!
QATAR 2022
🍁 Canada's first World Cup in 36 years in 2022
⚡ Alphonso Davies dazzled in red
🥊 Won CONCACAF championship in 2022
⚡ Alphonso Davies dazzled in red
🥊 Won CONCACAF championship in 2022
WOMEN'S GOLD
🥇 Women's team won Olympic gold at Tokyo 2021
🥅 Won on a dramatic penalty shootout
💪 Most celebrated Canadian football moment ever
🥅 Won on a dramatic penalty shootout
💪 Most celebrated Canadian football moment ever
HOST CITIES
🏙️ Toronto and Vancouver host matches
🌨️ Very different climate to USA and Mexico
🌍 First time 3 nations co-host together
🌨️ Very different climate to USA and Mexico
🌍 First time 3 nations co-host together
PAGE 5 OF 5 — 2026: THREE NATIONS, ONE DREAM
THREE HOSTS, ONE CUP
THE MOST AMBITIOUS WORLD CUP EVER PLANNED
The 2026 World Cup will be unlike any tournament in history. For the first time, three nations co-host together: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Eleven American cities, three Canadian cities, and three Mexican cities will share sixty-four matches, with stadiums stretching from Vancouver in the far north of Canada to Guadalajara and Mexico City in the south, where the Azteca Stadium will host matches for the third time in World Cup history, unique because it is the only ground to have staged two separate World Cup finals. The tournament features forty-eight teams for the first time, giving more countries from Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands a place than ever before. All three host nations qualify automatically, meaning USA, Canada, and Mexico fans get to cheer their teams on home soil. For Mexico, it is a third chance to make history on their own pitch. For the USA, it is a return to the stage they electrified in 1994. And for Canada, it is a first taste of hosting the greatest show in sport, a chance to prove that the maple leaf nation has fallen completely and permanently in love with the beautiful game.
UNITED!
48 TEAMS
🌍 48 nations competing, the most ever
🏟️ 16 cities, 3 countries, 64 matches
🎆 All 3 host nations qualify automatically
🏟️ 16 cities, 3 countries, 64 matches
🎆 All 3 host nations qualify automatically
REMEMBER
🌎 KEY FACTS
Mexico hosted in 1970 and 1986. The USA set the all-time attendance record of 3.5 million in 1994. Canada co-hosts for the first time in 2026. The Azteca is the only stadium to have hosted two World Cup finals.
🏆 Azteca: only stadium with 2 WC finals
⚽ MLS born as legacy of USA 1994
🍁 Canada's first-ever World Cup co-hosting
⚽ MLS born as legacy of USA 1994
🍁 Canada's first-ever World Cup co-hosting
🧠 QUIZ TIME!
THE HOSTS' FOOTBALL STORY · 5 QUESTIONS
QUESTION 01
How many spectators watched the 1970 World Cup final at Mexico's Azteca Stadium?
QUESTION 02
Why did Mexico end up hosting the 1986 World Cup instead of Colombia?
QUESTION 03
What attendance record did the USA set at the 1994 World Cup that still stands today?
QUESTION 04
Where was Canada's star player Alphonso Davies originally born?
QUESTION 05
The Azteca Stadium is unique in World Cup history because it is the only ground to have...
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