Mexico, one of the co-hosts of the 2026 World Cup alongside the United States and Canada, is preparing for a historic opening at the iconic Azteca Stadium. This venue will make history by hosting the opening matches of three World Cups, having previously done so in 1970 and 1986. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum recently shared updates on the preparations and revealed a heartwarming gesture for a young football fan.
Historic Preparations for the 2026 World Cup
The federal government has invested 9 billion pesos (approximately $489 million) in the renovation of Mexico City Airport to ensure seamless experiences for visitors and teams. President Sheinbaum emphasized the global significance of the event, saying,
“𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒐𝒏𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒂𝒍𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝑴𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒐’𝒔 𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒉𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒄 𝒍𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒄𝒚.”
The grand opening of the tournament will be held at the Azteca Stadium on June 11, 2026. The President has decided to give her personal ticket to a female football fan who cannot afford to attend, making this ticket number 00001 symbolic and prestigious. She stated,
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒂 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍.”
Excitement and Projects Across Mexico
FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Mexico last August to review World Cup preparations. Claudia Sheinbaum also announced that she will not use her ticket and that it will be given to a deserving young fan who dreams of witnessing the opening ceremony live. Renovations at the Azteca Stadium are ongoing, ensuring the venue is ready to host its third World Cup opening match in history.
Sheinbaum also highlighted plans for projects in Monterrey and Guadalajara to support the tournament, adding,
“𝑾𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 5.5 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒆𝒙𝒊𝒄𝒐. 𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕, 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒄 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒔.”
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