Is the newly released 2026 World Cup logo cool? Or is it shit?

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Is there anything worse thought out these days – aside from road closures for summer construction – than event logos?

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Have you seen the symbol that was chosen as the official emblem for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in North America, including Canada?

On it, on a black background, is nothing more than the World Cup trophy, centered on two stacked white blobs which, on closer inspection, turn out to be the bolded numbers ‘2’ and ‘6’ – for ’26’.

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The official unveiling of the already controversial logo took place on Wednesday at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, more than three years before the expanded field of 48 teams begins the month-long competition to determine the soccer nation of the world champions from June 11 to July 19, 2026.

The games will be played at venues in the United States (11), Mexico (three) and Canada (two, namely BMO Field in Toronto and BC Place in Vancouver).

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Then it will be an absolutely massive deal. And here it says that we’re all going to be fed up with this new artsy farty logo designed by bored, creatively exhausted artists who have decided on something that should be new and exciting, but ends up being new and was puzzling.

FIFA, the world football governing body, said in a statement on the new logo:

“For the first time in history, an image of the actual trophy and tournament year is featured, creating an innovative design language that anchors the FIFA World Cup emblem for 2026 and beyond. The trophy image and year allow for customization to reflect the uniqueness of each host (city and nation).”

Presumably the Canadian incarnation will have a red background. Hopefully the federal government and Ottawa bureaucracy don’t have a say too, otherwise we’ll be presented with some visual excuse for something in Canada’s past – mmmm, up to 2015 – they deplore to a global audience.

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