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When FIFA unveiled the official logo for football's premier event at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, the path toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada officially began. Ronaldo Nazário, a two-time World Cup champion, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino introduced the design, which depicts a real-life depiction of the FIFA World Cup trophy in the foreground and the year of the competition in bold writing in the background. The FIFA World Cup Trophy is now featured in the official logo for the first time.
FIFA also unveiled the WE ARE 26 campaign, which aims to inspire "people, places, and communities" to actively participate in the tournament's work, in addition to unveiling the tournament's official logo. The rallying cry is ‘WE ARE 26,’ according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who said, "It's a time when three nations and a continent come together to declare: 'We are united as one to welcome the world and deliver the biggest, best, and most inclusive FIFA World Cup ever."
"The competition will give each host nation and competing team the chance to create their own entry in the FIFA World Cup history, and this distinctive brand is a massive step on the path to 2026," the statement by Infantino reads. Infantino claims that each of the 16 host cities will have a distinctive identity created by FIFA, completed with extra colour and iconography to give each logo a vibe specific to the World Cup locations.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the 23rd edition of the quadrennial tournament and will be held jointly by three nations namely, USA, Canada, and Mexico. It is supposed to commence in June with the final scheduled for 19 July and Argentina will be the defending champions of the world cup. For the first time, the FIFA World Cup will include 48 teams, an expansion of 16 compared with the previous seven tournaments.