The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to be the biggest football tournament ever staged, with matches spread across the US, Canada and Mexico – and billions expected to tune in worldwide.
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But, for many fans, following the action no longer has to mean taking a month off work. As remote and hybrid working has become the norm, increasing numbers of travellers are planning to combine the tournament with working abroad, swapping the office for coworking spaces, cafés and fan zones in World Cup host cities.
So, which destinations offer the best balance of football atmosphere, affordability and remote-work practicality?
Web hosting provider 20i analysed all 16 host cities across the three nations against key indicators for fans who will be working while watching the games to reveal the best hubs for remote working as the tournament progresses.
It used publicly available data to judge internet connectivity, workspace availability, nearby technology support and a location’s local healthcare system index, and national cybersecurity score – all crucial when it comes to working remotely successfully.
20i also looked at the availability of accommodation within 1km of a city’s stadium, as well as the cost of living, specifically examining the costs of an inexpensive meal, a draught pint, and the price of a 1km ride in a taxi.
The company then gave each city a score from 0 to 25 across all indicators, and then the scores were aggregated to produce a total out of 250, meaning the higher the score, the higher the remote work friendliness.
While each host city has its benefits, it was two Canadian destinations – Toronto and Vancouver – which came out on top, with most boxes ticked and 200.0 and 163.3 out of 250, respectively.
Houston and Philadelphia scored well on connectivity, places to stay, and cybersecurity – and both received an overall score of 146.7 out of 250 – while Mexico’s host cities ranked high for affordability and wider accommodation choice, but fell down on cybersecurity.
Other US cities didn’t score particularly highly, with Los Angeles, Seattle and the San Francisco Bay Area ranking low due to higher overall expense and fewer budget-friendly stays near stadiums.
Meanwhile, Boston had absolutely no affordable accommodation within walking distance of its stadium for fans – something that reflects the fact that remote workers could do well to choose their bases based on a balance of digital infrastructure and affordability, rather than just the size and popularity of a host destination.
Here’s what each World Cup host city does best.
The practical considerations: coworking spaces and internet quality
The research found that the New York-New Jersey host area offered the most available coworking spaces of all host cities – 266 in total – and the area came in fifth place overall in the ranking.
Mexico City and Toronto also have an abundance of coworking spaces – with 171 and 113, respectively – while Kansas City offered the fewest, at just 13.
While Canada and the US both boast solid national cybersecurity scores, across Mexico, host cities were found to have poor results, well below the study’s ‘good’ benchmark of 80 points.
In practical terms, that means that remote workers who opt to stay in Mexico might want to take additional security precautions, including using VPNs.
Toronto and Vancouver recorded the fastest fixed broadband download speeds of all host cities, followed by Miami. All three had speeds of over 200 Mbps, the figure considered to be excellent for remote working with multiple connected devices.
All of the US host cities offer decent speeds, while Mexico’s came in dead last.
Mexico City averages 43.61 Mbps, which suggests workers there will need to prioritise coworking spaces or accommodation with verified high-speed Wi-Fi.
Cost of living
While Mexico’s infrastructure means it’s not always on top in the ranking, its host cities performed strongly in several affordability-related categories.
Guadalajara and Mexico City both did well, helped by higher availability of affordable accommodation options as well as cheaper food, drink and taxis compared to other host cities.
Across Mexico’s host cities, a pint of draft beer averages around $3.02 (€2.59) while taxi fares come in at about $1.02 (€0.88) per kilometre, dropping to just $0.46 (€0.39) in Mexico City.
In contrast, football fans across the US can expect, on average, to pay $7.27 (€6.24) for a draft beer and $1.73 (€1.49) per kilometre for a taxi ride.
Food in Mexico is also a relative bargain, with a meal at an inexpensive restaurant averaging $12.46 (€10.70), which is less than half of a similar meal in notoriously pricey Miami, and significantly less than the rest of the US.
In Canada, the costs of meals, beer and taxi fares are less than in the US and more than in Mexico, meaning its host cities are relatively affordable – but not for everyone.
Accommodation options
Finding affordable accommodation close to stadiums could prove challenging in several US host cities.
Across Booking.com and Airbnb, no accommodation within 1km of Boston Stadium was available for under $4,000 (€3,434) for a seven-night stay. Atlanta offered just one affordable option, while Dallas and the San Francisco Bay Area had only 17 and 20, respectively.
Kansas City and Seattle also recorded fewer than 50 reasonably priced stays within walking distance of stadiums.
In contrast, Mexico City ranked highest overall for affordable accommodation availability, with Canadian and Mexican host cities generally offering far more choice for budget-conscious fans.
Timezone friendliness
Despite not being included in the overall ranking, timezone differences can matter a lot to remote workers.
East Coast destinations, including Toronto, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Boston and New York and New Jersey, offered the best overlap with European business hours, with up to three shared working hours with London-based teams.
Meanwhile, West Coast cities, including Vancouver, Seattle, Los Angeles and San Francisco, offered no standard overlap with UK or European office hours, and none of the host cities aligned particularly well with standard business hours in major Asia-Pacific hubs, including Tokyo, Singapore and Beijing.
That means that remote workers may need earlier starts or later finishes in order to balance their World Cup schedules.
