2026 FIFA World Cup logistics and data demand across US, Canada and Mexico

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, expanding to 48 national teams and 104 matches in 16 host cities. Each team travels with a support staff of 70‑100 people and cargo loads that can reach 10‑15 tons, moving equipment, medical devices, food supplies and personal items across continents.

Telecom operators reported that the tournament generated massive mobile data traffic. Verizon logged about 500 TB of data across all U.S. venues, with the Argentine‑Spanish final alone accounting for 29.2 TB. AT&T highlighted similar spikes, especially during the Australia‑Egypt match (28.7 TB). Stadiums were equipped with thousands of antennas and network capacity was expanded two‑ to three‑fold to handle the surge.

These figures illustrate the scale of both the logistical operation that moves an entire mobile city of athletes and staff, and the digital infrastructure needed to support billions of fan connections during the event.