YOUR PASSPORT TO THE GLOBAL GAME | August 2026 | Vol. 17
In this month’s issue:
🦅 LAST CHANCE for early bird pricing on our Mexico City trip
⏱️ The best place to live to minimize travel time to footy
🏆 A new tournament to rival the World Cup?!
➕ …and more!
Your Next THREE Footy Travel Opportunities
World Cup 2026 is now more than a month in the past, which is actually great news, because it means three other incredible footy events inspiring fans to travel are on their way.
For most people, the end of the World Cup means turning their attention to the ever-aligning global club calendar. The world’s most popular league, the Premier League, kicked off this past weekend. Much to Colin’s delight Arsenal are looking fully capable of a title repeat, while Mike’s Chelsea matched their London rivals’ 3-goal opening weekend tally. Meanwhile in ‘Treble-chester’, things are off to a bit of a rough start for United (losing to newly promoted Hull City) and City (with ‘115’ still lingering over their heads).
The Men’s World Cup in the rearview also means that the Women’s World Cup is less than a year away, which is even more exciting now that the official match calendar has been released. We now know when each host city will be hosting games. Let the footy travel planning for Brasil begin!
Most importantly of course, another summer fading means another Footy Travelers autumn excursion to Mexico City for Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) weekend. If you missed the email announcements and recent social posts, we hate to tell you you’re a bit behind, but not all is lost. We have four (4) rooms remaining, and early bird pricing continues through this Saturday, August 29. A 25% deposit holds your spot, so if you’ve been dreaming about joining a Footy Travelers trip, or getting to Mexico City any time recently, this is your chance! Hurry though, once rooms are spoken for, it’s relegation to the waitlist for any late comers.
Happy reading!
— The Footy Travelers
Help us grow by forwarding this to a friend. Are you that friend? Subscribe here so you don’t miss future monthly editions! Then explore what we’re all about at footytravelers.com.
Some articles we share may sit behind a paywall or require an account to access. We include them because we think they (and the journalists who wrote them) are worth it.
If we haven’t made it clear and obvious yet, there’s only 4 rooms left for our Dia de Muertos Weekend trip to Mexico City (Oct 29 - Nov 02, 2026). Still not sure if a Footy Travelers’ trip is right for you? Your fellow footy travelers can tell you what the groups tend to look like, and why their decision to join last year’s trip was one of the easiest travel decisions they’ve made.
EURO 2028 Loading…
It’s never too early to plan for the next big tournament. If you’re looking for a great trip for EURO 2028 in the UK and Ireland—and you’re a runner or enjoy a good daily jaunt to get those steps in—we have a trip for you! Sign up for Race2Adventure’s UK EURO Experience today and use code ‘FFT200’ for $200 (USD) off.
RECOMMENDATION(s) OF THE MONTH
We all know how difficult (and expensive) it was to get tickets to World Cup games this summer, but that didn’t stop author, previous FTP guest, and fellow footy traveler Matt Walker from enjoying an incredible footy trip to Mexico, across all three host cities. Read why Matt found Mexico to be the perfect host for a footy trip (what made it hospitable, cultured and a little bit ‘loco’).
Hungry for lower-league footy travel? Good news: Some British clubs are drawing fans in with a tasty alternative to high quality footy.
WORLD CUP WATCH
Yes, World Cup 2026 is over, but the aftermath of it is something we’re all still talking about, namely Infantino’s and FIFA’s relationship with the competition. The ‘FIFA Forward Enterprise’ plan to sell a stake in the tournament was scrapped after backlash from several confederations, but FIFA, with Infantino at the helm and looking like he may be for another term, looks to be keeping calm and carrying on. With that, several continental fan groups, including Football Supporters Europe, Football Supporters Africa and North America’s Independent Supporters Council, launched a petition calling for Infantino to resign.
Which begs the question: If Infantino doesn't resign, can anyone challenge him? And how do FIFA elections actually work?
Or does any of that even matter? Has FIFA already lost its grip on the game at the international level, as CONCACAF and UEFA discuss creation of a combined Nations League competition that could begin as soon as the fall of 2028?
AFRICA (CAF)
Malawi stunned 10-time champions Nigeria in the opening days of WAFCON, and reached the Final earlier this month, but the run wasn’t as indomitable as the Lionesses of Cameroon who ultimately lifted the trophy after a dominant 3-0 win.
Barcelona cancelled a pre-season friendly in Morocco earlier this month, due to a humanitarian crisis in Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the North African coast.
ASIA (AFC)
Malaysia's Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) claimed a new world record for the longest unbeaten run (109 games) in top-flight league football, surpassing the previous world record set between 1989-1994.
Miura Kazuyoshi, the 59-year-old Japanese legend scored his first multi-goal game in four years, and the critics have something to say about it.
EUROPE (UEFA)
Soccer is now Europe's big geopolitical power base.
The internet will tell you that the Premier League is the most attended soccer league globally by total attendance. But the Bundesliga leads the world in average attendance per match, and its new ticket sales record is proof that footy traveling to Germany puts you in the presence of some of the world’s most dedicated, passionate fans.
Planning a trip to Old Trafford? Man Utd are planning their first-ever permanent matchday fan zone at the stadium, “something fans have told us they want.” Glad the club is providing results for its supporters somewhere.
NORTH AMERICA (CONCACAF)
What do Vermont Green FC have over the 2003-04 Arsenal “Invincibles”? Well, beyond earning the moniker two seasons in a row, they had to journey over 650 miles for their last match, including a stretch through Canada, to accomplish it.
Speaking of Mexico and the two Liga MX matches we’ll be experiencing at the Azteca this fall, second division side Atletico La Paz protested the ending of Liga MX promotion and relegation by wearing shirts reminding current first division clubs when they were promoted.
MLS isn’t moving to pro-rel and the type of game-to-game jeopardy it provides anytime soon, but new commissioner Larry Berg said there would be more ‘games of consequence’ during regular season, thanks to how MLS is reportedly planning to structure a new(er) post-season.
OCEANIA (OFC)
New Zealand breaks rank with Oceania to withdraw support for Gianni Infantino.
SOUTH AMERICA (CONMEBOL)
Copa Libertadores and Copa Sudamericana matches, as well as Colombian domestic league games, were postponed following a powerful earthquake that struck Colombia earlier this month…
…since then, the División Mayor del Fútbol Colombiano (Dimayor) confirmed that the country’s top league will continue without format changes.
Peru's Club Deportivo Municipal came up with an incredible solution to fund their season after being relegated to the Copa Peru (equivalent to fourth division footy)
LAST MINUTE PACK JOB
Spain's Super Cup, featuring Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Real Sociedad, is heading to Turkey in February 2027, continuing the trend of major Spanish competitions being held abroad to expand global reach.
All 72 (2026) EFL stadiums ranked by a self-confessed grounds nerd and member of the Ninety-Two Club is the kind of project FFTs dream about!