On a star-studded afternoon in Washington, D.C., FIFA President Gianni Infantino welcomed the world to the Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and, with the help of several celebrity hosts and conductors along with three Heads of State, set the stage for the greatest tournament in football history. “It's not a normal draw, because we are in America. And because we are in America, we need to make a show,” Mr Infantino said at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The Final Draw was a show indeed, featuring electric musical performances by the likes of Andrea Bocelli, Lauryn Hill, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger and a fun, festive atmosphere created by co-hosts Heidi Klum and Kevin Hart.

The entertainment was just the appetiser, however, to the main event – the traditional draw that placed the participating teams into 12 groups and charted their course to potential World Cup glory. A tournament of unsurpassed reach and scope deserved a draw packed with both style and substance, and Mr Infantino launched proceedings with an inspiring reminder of how significant and seismic the FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be. “It’s much more than just a sporting event. It’s simply the greatest event that humanity, that mankind, has ever seen and will ever see,” he said. “We have three beautiful countries: Mexico, Canada and the United States. We have 16 wonderful Host Cities. We (will) have 48 excellent teams from 48 different countries around the world, who will compete in 104 matches to become the only, one and only, world champion,” Mr Infantino continued. “What an exciting summer from 11 June to 19 July that we will have here. This will be unique. This will be stellar.”

Iconic North American sports stars Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal joined draw conductors Rio Ferdinand and Samantha Johnson to draw the groups. Their flawless performance through the complex and riveting process represented an impressive display of composure considering their positions appeared to be under potential threat just minutes before. “You’ve been reading a lot of things about the draw, and who will be the draw assistants and who will make the draw, and so on. Well, it all changed. We just had a meeting, we decided we’d change it all,” the President joked before the draw officially commenced.

He then welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to take their places under the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall spotlight. The Heads of State of the three FIFA World Cup 2026™ hosts, united in their joint effort to stage the largest and most impactful sporting event in history, conducted a poignant dress rehearsal for the main event, pulling the names of their respective nations from their bowls before posing for a playful selfie with Mr Infantino. It was all in the spirit of the occasion.

”Today, of course, we are here to celebrate, to be happy. We always have to remember to enjoy ourselves,” Mr Infantino said. He embraced that edict, leading the Americans, Canadians and Mexicans in the audience through a series of raucous, patriotic cheers that set the tone for a memorable afternoon, and set the stage for a unprecedented festival of football in June and July 2026. “Football… is the language of passion, which is the language of love, which is the language of happiness, because you should know that FIFA is the official happiness provider for humanity for over 100 years,” he said.