World Cup 2026

México City, June 11

Returning to Mexico City, and things have changed. There is an excitement in the air that only World Cups can create and that I got addicted to over the years. It feels as if everyone’s hearts are beating faster, people from any corner of the world are having an excited grin on their faces, the joy can be felt everywhere. Strangers starting to talk with each other without hesitation, football topics swirl around, children are having the best days of their young lives.
My hotel is in parts booked by Adidas, the CEO is here and I has the chance to have a chat over breakfast with Mr Gulden, members of the South African team delegations stay here as well, media galore…people rush…it’s a sort of fever, that’s unvoidable and infectious. It feels as if the global attention, the football fans and TV spectators in every corner of the globe are present, somehow, and it adds..

The situation in the streets hasn’t changed. Security everywhere, the army came, the airport felt as if it’s under siege and the worst days of the pst have returned. It is getting more and more obvious over the times I have visited World Cups that they have grown so much, attract so much energy and hit the hosting country like a giant comet, in a way that makes it more and more difficult to find a country that can handle this outbreak of intense energy.
There are happy moments, but this city, today, is not an entirely happy city.

And I am not an entirely happy man either…I remember the World Cup in 1986, and the talk of „Montezumas revengè, and boy has it hit hard. Fried chicken, street food, and I should have known it. Boom, and off…the flight was a nightmare, and I spare you the details.
Recovering slowly, and will he’d soon to a public viewing point, where I reserved myself a table.