Doha, Qatar: FIFA unveiled the World Cup 2026 emblem on Thursday to heavy derision from fans and sports publications.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino revealed the logo at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles on May 17, three years before the Mexico, USA, and Canada co-hosted event is set to take place.
Brazilian football legend Ronaldo joined Infantino on stage during the reveal.
Described as “oversimplified,” the logo features a still image of the World Cup trophy superimposed on white cutouts of the numbers “2” and “6” placed vertically on top of each other.
World Soccer Talk, a US based football news website, called the design “uninspiring” and rued the “disappointing lack of any visual reference to the three hosts, or North America as a whole.”
FIFA, in an official press release, said that “for the first time in history, an image of the actual trophy and the tournament hosting year is being depicted, forming an innovative design language that anchors the FIFA World Cup emblem for 2026 and beyond.”
Fans were not too keen on the design, and made sure to voice their discontent online.
It should have been something that would represent the 3 countries. Come on guys
— Rodoval (@RoDoVaL) May 18, 2023
Here’s me not even hitting 40% on my graphic design module…
— Will Lowley (@LowleyW) May 18, 2023
Embarrassing
— Kenan (@kenanjapalak) May 18, 2023
