Gianni Infantino 104 Super Bowls will be equivalent to 2026 WC

FIFA president Gianni Infantino is building the hype around next year’s World Cup promising that the tournament will be equivalent to “104 Super Bowls” in a month.

The expanded 48-team tournament will be the biggest World Cup in history. In the previous 32-team editions there were a total of 64 games played. In 2026 there will be 104 different games played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Infantino appeared on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and explained how the viewership numbers of the World Cup will be that of “104 Super Bowls.”

Gianni Infantino 104 Super Bowls comment

Gianni Infantino talks about the global impact of the FIFA World Cup pic.twitter.com/pBppfcFZMs

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 1, 2025

Obviously there’s a little exaggeration in the comment. If every game were truly like a Super Bowl then that would mean 104 halftime shows and that won’t be happening.

Not all games will stack up equally either. A knockout game between Netherlands and Argentina will hold much greater interest than say, a group stage game between New Zealand and Ghana.

Overall though the spectacle will be considerably larger than the annual NFL championship. From a pure numbers perspective the 6 billion viewers of the World Cup is actually 50X that of the average Super Bowl (120 million viewers).

Infantino also added that next year’s World Cup and this summer’s Club World Cup hosted in the United States will inspire the next generation of players in the country.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino expects to see soccer grow in North America with the continent hosting both the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup pic.twitter.com/nmKt6AGK9y

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 1, 2025