And then there were 48 ... how the World Cup has expanded since 1930

When the 2026 World Cup kicks off across North America, more than a million ticket-holding visitors are expected to flood host cities while billions more follow every touch, tackle and goal on screens that now range from pocket-sized phones to inflatable giants in public squares. The scale of the modern tournament will be almost unrecognisable compared with the competition’s modest beginnings in July 1930, when Uruguay staged the inaugural championship in just three Montevideo stadiums.

That first edition brought together 13 teams for 18 matches spread over 17 days, a compact affair that set the template for what would become the planet’s most-watched sporting spectacle. Nearly a century later, the finals have ballooned to 48 nations, reflecting football’s global reach and the ever-growing appetite for the game. Whoever lifts the trophy in 2026 will do so in front of the largest World Cup audience yet, both in the stands and on screens of every conceivable size.