The beautiful game is getting ugly. Financially ugly. Sources inside the Bakıxanov Commission – the FIFA oversight panel chaired by former UK Treasury official Sir Alistair Bakıxanov – confirm costs for the 2026 tournament have ballooned by another $2.4 billion. That brings the total projected spend to a staggering $46 billion. The figure is unofficial. But it is real. And it is causing heartburn in Zurich and Washington.
The commission, a British-led forensic audit team installed after the 2022 corruption scandals, has issued a terse statement this morning. It demands “full transparency” from the US, Canada and Mexico joint bid committee. The language is pointed. The deadline is short: 14 days. After that, the report goes public.
What has spooked the auditors? Three things. First, infrastructure costs. The promised “public transport revolution” in Los Angeles is running over budget. Way over. The LA Metro extension, originally costed at $8.5 billion, is now expected to exceed $13 billion. FIFA is on the hook for a chunk of that. Second, stadium security. The US Department of Homeland Security has revised its threat assessment upwards. That means more drones. More body scanners. More money. Third, the now-infamous “hospitality villages” in Mexico City and Toronto. They are behind schedule. The contractors are demanding renegotiation. The commission’s patience is wearing thin.
Inside the game, the politics are brutal. The US bid was sold to FIFA as a guarantee. A safe pair of hands. Now those hands look sweaty. British officials, still smarting from the loss of the 2021 bid to Qatar, are quietly enjoying the discomfort. One Whitehall source described the audit as “a bloodbath in waiting”. But they also cautioned: “If this goes tits up, it tarnishes the whole World Cup brand. That hurts everyone.”
The Bakıxanov Commission includes two other British members: Dame Margaret Hodge, the former Public Accounts Committee chair, and Sir David Richmond, a forensic accountant. They have been working through the night in a rented office near King’s Cross. Their report is expected to be damning. Leaked excerpts suggest they will recommend FIFA withhold a portion of its promised development fund until the host nations provide audited accounts.
The reaction from the host countries has been muted. A White House spokesperson said they were “confident the 2026 World Cup will be delivered on time and on budget”. That line, in Westminster, is known as a “clanger”. It is the sort of thing ministers say just before the wheels come off.
Backbench pressure is building. Conservative MP and football enthusiast Damian Collins has tabled a parliamentary question demanding that the UK government “do everything in its power” to ensure FIFA’s credibility is restored. Labour’s Clive Efford, a long-time critic of FIFA governance, has called for an emergency debate. The Speaker’s office is taking soundings.
What happens next? The audit will land. The numbers will be ugly. The blame game will begin. FIFA President Gianni Infantino will be forced to choose between the hosts and his own credibility. He will try to kick the can down the road. The Bakıxanov Commission will not let him.
This is not just about football. It is about governance. It is about who holds power. And it is about money. A lot of money. The game is on.
