Arenas had to lose seats to meet the federation’s demands regarding the size of the pitch
The 16 arenas that will host the 2026 World Cup will operate at 95.08% of their original audience capacity during the 104 games of the competition. In order to adapt to the standard required by , the stadiums will have their total audience capacity reduced from 1,063,872 seats to 1,011,567. The reduction is almost 5%. The survey is from Poder Sports MKT based on the comparison between the data presented by the stadium administrators and the .
The removal of seats was necessary to expand the lawn area. The FIFA standard requires the area to be 105 meters long by 68 meters wide. Surrounding areas covered with synthetic grass are also required to warm up reserve players and assistant referees.
The 11 stadiums that will be used in the United States are for NFL teams. The size of the pitch in American football is smaller: 109.7 meters x 48.7 meters.
With the largest audience capacity on the list of stadiums in the USA, MetLife Stadium had its capacity reduced from 82,500 to 78,576 seats.
The MetLife Stadium will be the stage for the debut of the Brazilian team, against the Moroccan team, on June 13
At the other end, the smallest stage of the 2026 World Cup, BMO Field, in Toronto (Canada), had its capacity increased from 17,756 seats to 45,736.
BMO Field, in Toronto, hosts the debut of the Canadian team, scheduled for June 12, 2026
NAMING RIGHTS DE FORA
FIFA has the naming rights for 15 of the 16 World Cup stadiums. He stated that the exposure of brands that are not part of the official sponsor package constitutes “ambush marketing”.
This report was produced by the journalism trainee at Poder360 Vitor Struck under the supervision of Brunno Kono.
