FIFA unveils fan-centric pre-match ceremony for 2026 World Cup

• FIFA has scrapped single-player walkouts — full matchday squads will now walk out together at the 2026 World Cup.

• New visual elements include handheld flags and both nations' flags unfurled across the pitch.

• The ceremony debuts June 11, with England's first experience coming against Croatia on June 17.

FIFA has revealed a brand-new pre-match ceremony that will feature at every game during the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer, one designed to shift the spotlight from starting lineups to entire squads.

The governing body confirmed that the traditional single-player walkout, which debuted at last year's Club World Cup, will not return.

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Instead, all members of each matchday squad will walk out together and gather around the center circle for the team lineup reads and national anthems.

In a statement, FIFA described the concept as a "fan-centric pre-match ceremony" aimed at ensuring every selected player, not just the eleven who start, gets to experience "that symbolic moment of pride and emotion when representing their country on football's greatest stage."

New visual elements will also be introduced. Handheld flags will be part of the proceedings, and the national flags of both competing nations will be unfurled across the pitch before kickoff.

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The ceremony makes its World Cup bow ahead of the tournament's opening match on Thursday, June 11.

Host nation Canada will then experience it for the first time against Bosnia & Herzegovina on Friday, June 12, while the United States will open their group stage campaign against Paraguay at 2am BST on Saturday, June 13.

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England fans will get their first look at the new walkout ahead of the Three Lions' opener against Croatia at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Wednesday, June 17.

The move represents a broader FIFA push to make the World Cup a more inclusive spectacle—one where every player in a squad feels part of the occasion from the very first whistle.