Could China Host a World Cup? As 2026 Tournament Kicks Off, Social Media Says Yes

As the 2026 World Cup opened across North America this week, a debate spread on X over a different question: whether China should host a future edition of the tournament.

The discussion began after one user nominated China as a potential host, drawing thousands of replies. Many supporters shared clips of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and predicted a Chinese-hosted World Cup would be more spectacular, pointing to the country's stadiums, high-speed rail network, food culture and safety record.

A TikTok blogger went further, claiming "China would be the perfect host nation for a World Cup." The blogger listed reasons including the country's many beautiful stadiums that would require little new construction, convenient public transit, a football culture and fan atmosphere comparable to Europe's, experience hosting major international tournaments, appealing history, cuisine, and culture, as well as being one of the safest nations in the world. The video has since garnered hundreds of thousands of likes and broad agreement.

Skeptics raised the obvious objection: do Chinese people even care about football?

The countryside says yes. When a grassroots tournament between farming villages in Guizhou Province held its final in 2023, more than 150,000 tourists and fans poured into the small host county, with millions more watching online. The "Village Super League," or Cunchao, became such a phenomenon that Roberto Baggio and Roberto Carlos turned up to light the torch at its relaunch, and organizers now plan a "Village World Cup" in 2028.

The national team's record is another matter. China is ranked 94th by FIFA and has missed every World Cup since its only appearance in 2002, when it was eliminated in the group stage without scoring a goal.

Several users argued this is irrelevant to hosting: "Which country can host the World Cup has nothing to do with its football level. Qatar and Canada are not powerhouses, yet that did not prevent them from hosting." Canada is a co-host of this year's tournament.

China is not entirely absent from this year's event. Referee Ma Ning, selected to officiate at the tournament, has been embraced by Chinese fans as the country's unofficial representative, gaining nearly 200,000 followers within two weeks of joining the RedNote platform and signing endorsement deals with brands including Lenovo and Hisense.

But any Chinese bid would face a long timeline. The 2030 World Cup will be staged by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, and the 2034 edition by Saudi Arabia, with FIFA rules generally barring confederations of recent hosts from bidding for the following edition – leaving the 2040s as the earliest realistic window.

Until then, China watches this World Cup the way it watched the last five: from the sofa at 3 am, with total devotion.