Thousands of hotel reservations tied to the 2026 World Cup are being canceled by FIFA, according to emerging data, fueling concerns about the tournament’s commercial outlook. Unease appears to be growing within the organization’s upper ranks, as a mix of geopolitical tensions, domestic challenges in the United States, and inconsistencies in planning raise questions about how the event will ultimately perform.

Early signs of this uncertainty are already visible in the hospitality sector. FIFA has reportedly canceled bookings for around 2,000 hotel rooms in Philadelphia—originally secured for the tournament—as well as an additional 800 rooms in Mexico City.

The Philadelphia Hotel Association noted that FIFA had initially reserved approximately 10,000 rooms in the city. Most of the cancellations have affected four centrally located hotels. However, according to ABC, the pullback is not limited to Philadelphia, with similar cancellations taking place across multiple host cities in the United States. Philadelphia is scheduled to host six World Cup matches, including one in the Round of 16.

In Mexico, the scale of the rollback is also significant. Newspaper reports indicate that by early March, FIFA had already canceled about 40% of its hotel bookings in Mexico City—800 out of an initial 2,000 rooms.

The governing body had projected that between 5 and 6.5 million fans would attend the tournament across North America. However, the latest figures suggest that attendance may fall well short of those expectations, raising fresh doubts about the event’s overall commercial success.