What is the official logo for the 2026 World Cup and who designed it?
Many fans called the design bland and uninspired after its reveal. FIFA’s explanation sheds light on the thinking behind it.
There have been some iconic World Cup logos over the years, although it’s probably not too controversial to suggest the 2026 design isn’t one of them.
FIFA revealed the tournament’s branding in May 2023, describing the logo, which features a stacked “26” with the World Cup trophy placed in front of it, as “inclusive,” “simple” and “highly customizable.” The idea, FIFA said, was that the logo could be easily adapted across merchandise while allowing each host city to use its own color variations.
#WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/H1SyqypUYY
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) May 18, 2023
Fans, on the whole, have not embraced the minimalist approach.
“I believe my 19-year-old cat could’ve designed a better logo for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” read one early review on X.
“Most boring logo for FIFA World Cup 2026. No energy or excitement during the unveil either. This is pathetic!” wrote another skeptic on the same platform.
Fans unimpressed
The feeling wasn’t any more positive over on Reddit.
“I gotta get a sport graphic design job. Lowest standards of any career,” posted one user.
“I don’t even hate the 26 but they really just dropped a world-cup-trophy.png in the middle and called it a day, huh.”
That was about as nice as it got.
As with anything, there do seem to be a few people out there who actually like it, but you get the gist. If you Google “meh,” you might well get an image of the 2026 World Cup logo.
I believe my 19-year-old cat could've designed a better logo for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. pic.twitter.com/fCryFtyJbi
— Alex Seixeiro (@AlexSeixeiro) May 18, 2023
Who designed the 2026 World Cup logo?
Who was responsible for such blandness? FIFA themselves.
World soccer’s governing body explained at the unveiling that the logo was designed by its own in-house brand team, with support from several consulting agencies.
No names were mentioned, which is maybe just as well for those involved.
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