With less than a year until Toronto welcomes the world for FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA has officially opened applications for what will be the largest volunteer programme in the tournament’s history!
As of Monday morning, anyone interested can apply at fifaworldcup.com/volunteers to join a once-in-a-generation community helping to deliver the biggest FIFA World Cup yet. About 65,000 volunteers will be called upon across Canada, Mexico and the U.S. to support the expanded 48-team tournament across 16 host cities over six weeks.
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Toronto is one of the 16 host cities in North America and will stage six matches, including the first-ever men’s FIFA World Cup match on Canadian soil, featuring Canada’s Men’s National Team (June 12, 2026), as well as a Round of 32 match on July 2, 2026 (click here for the official match schedule). Matches will take place at BMO Field, which is undergoing upgrades to temporarily expand capacity from 30,000 to about 45,700 seats!
Volunteers will work across 23 areas at official and non-official sites, including stadiums, training facilities, airports and hotels. No prior volunteering experience is needed, and volunteers can be from all backgrounds and abilities (including everyone from students to retirees). Applicants just have to be at least 18 years old at the time of application, eligible to volunteer in the host country and have a good command of English.
“Volunteers are the heart, soul and smile of FIFA tournaments,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “They get to show off their local pride, gain a behind-the-scenes view of the tournament and make memories and friendships that can last a lifetime, while supporting a historic event. We hope interested individuals will join us as we welcome the world to North America in 2026.”
The FIFA Volunteer Community is now more than one million members strong and will be essential to creating an unforgettable experience for the millions expected to attend. Past volunteers, like Craig Collins (who participated in the 1994 FIFA World Cup USA and the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 in Atlanta), are already pumped to be involved again.
“I’m excited to apply for the 2026 volunteer programme and hope to show off my community to the world once more,” Collins said in a statement.
Volunteer team tryouts are expected to begin in Oct 2025, with training scheduled for March 2026. FIFA World Cup 26 kicks off on 11 June 2026 in Mexico City.
Visit FIFA for more info and to apply! And if you’d like to get a sense of what it means to be a volunteer at an event like this, check out this video of Chelsey Roy, a Canadian woman who volunteered at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2015.
