Here's Where & When the Next World Cup Will Be Held After Russia

The World Cup is coming to a close. There are just two games remaining before either France or Croatia is crowned champion.

It's been a weird tournament. Germany was bounced in the group stage, superstars like Messi and Ronaldo exited sooner than many expected, and nations like Russia, Japan, and South Korea had surprisingly strong showings. Oh, and there were lotsofmemes. 

However, fans of eliminated countries are already feeling like President Bartlet and asking, "What's next?" Here's a look ahead at when and where you'll be able to catch the next World Cup.

This year's tournament ran from June 14 to July 15. In 2022, the year of the next World Cup, it will kick off on November 21 with the final game on December 18, Qatar's National Day.

That makes for two notable changes. Due to the intense summer heat of the host nation, the World Cup won't be held during the usual June-July time frame. Additionally, it will be a little shorter, running for just 28 days, per FIFA.

Qatar will host the 2022 World Cup. It will be the first time a Middle East country has hosted the event. It will span through eight new stadiums in Qatar. There have been 11 stadiums used in this year's Cup.

It's worth noting that the World Cup in Qatar has been plagued by controversy almost since the moment it was announced. An Amnesty International report alleged human rights violations by companies constructing the new stadiums. Those allegations arrived after an initial wave of criticism about working conditions and worker deaths. Since that Amnesty report, conditions have improved.

The Qatar bid has also been embroiled in a bribery scandal. Widespread investigations into corruption at FIFA included allegations that bribes were paid to members of FIFA's 22-person executive committee. (Corruption investigations led to reforms at FIFA, including a change to how votes are cast for World Cup bids.) The allegations of bribery have been denied, and a FIFA investigation exonerated the Qatar bid. However, there are ongoing federal investigations in three countries, reports Bloomberg.

Prior to the start of the games in Russia, FIFA announced the host of the 2026 World Cup would be a joint bid from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. It's the first time the tournament will be jointly hosted by three countries, and Mexico will be the first country to host the men's World Cup three times. Details are still be working out, but the games will be spread across 16 yet to be named cities. Of those, 10 will be in the United States, and the other six will be split between Canada and Mexico, reports the BBC. A total of 60 games will be held in the 10 US cities, while Canada and Mexico will get 10 games each.

There has been interest in raising the number of teams that qualify for the tournament from 32 to 48 starting with the 2022 World Cup. However, the chances of that are basically nil, according to a CTV report. It's more likely that the first tournament featuring 48 qualifying teams will be the joint North American tournament in 2026.

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