Planning on running a World Cup sweepstake with your friends, family or colleagues? We have everything you need for free ahead of the start of World Cup 2026.
The greatest show on Earth gets under way on June 11 when co-hosts Mexico take on South Africa at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, with the final taking place on July 19 in the New York-New Jersey Stadium.
FIFA's decision to increase the number of participants from 32 to 48 means this will be quite literally the biggest World Cup in history, and that's not the only reason this will be a tournament like no other we have ever witnessed before.
There are three different host nations - only the second occasion after Japan and South Korea in 2002 that there has been more than one - as the World Cup returns to Mexico for the third time, the USA for the second time and Canada play host for the very first time.
You can download our sweepstake kit as a PDF for FREE below.
From holders Argentina to rank outsiders Haiti, no matter who you draw at least you'll have a team to get behind this summer!
How to run a World Cup 2026 sweepstake
- Download our pdf for a full list of teams
- Put everyone's name into a hat or type out names in alphabetical order
- Set up a WhatsApp group with all of your entrants or meet to conduct the draw
- In person, conduct the draw in ascending or descending order
- If via WhatsApp group use a random number generator and enter 1 in lowest, 48 in highest, and '1' in column boxes
48 random numbers (none repeated) will appear in a list
Assign first generated number to first person in alphabetical list and so on until everyone has a team - Numbers 1-48 should be in World Cup draw order as per sweepstake kit (Mexico = 1, Panama = 48)
*If you do not have 48 entrants, repeat process until all teams are assigned
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Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.