Las Vegas Set to Host 2026 FIFA World Cup Draw Ceremony

The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico, will feature an expanded format with 48 teams, and the official draw ceremony is set for December 5, 2025, in Las Vegas. Las Vegas was chosen as the draw venue after potential sites in Canada and Mexico were ruled out, continuing the tradition since the city hosted the draw in 1994 despite not being a match host city. The draw will divide the teams into 12 groups of four, with the three host nations already assigned to groups. The Sphere, a new 17,500-seat entertainment arena with a massive 54,000-square-meter LED screen that opened in 2023, is the leading candidate to host the ceremony, although official confirmation is pending. Pedro Cedillo, an executive from Mexican club Pachuca, confirmed the necessity of presence in Las Vegas for the event and its significance for World Cup-related activities. The draw will finalize the groupings after the conclusion of qualifying matches by March 2026, with the tournament running from June 11 to July 19, 2026.