As the FIFA World Cup moves through Canada, Mexico and the United States, one of the largest freight operations in sport is keeping pace behind the matches.
The 2026 tournament is being played across 16 host cities from 11 June to 19 July. It is the first men’s World Cup with 48 teams and 104 matches, which makes the logistics challenge as much about control as volume.
FIFA has appointed Rock-it Cargo, part of The Rock-it Company, as the Official Logistics Provider for the tournament. According to FIFA, its role includes planning, management and event-logistics services covering customs, international freight forwarding, warehouse and distribution operations, on-site venue operations at the International Broadcast Centre and team equipment operations. FIFA said Rock-it Cargo’s North American operational and customs experience, centralised warehouse infrastructure and last-mile ownership would support logistics services for its partners, vendors, broadcasters and other stakeholders.
Daniel Rosenthal, president and CEO of The Rock-it Company, described the scale of the assignment to Sports Business Journal: “If you take the 16 venues and turn them upside down and shake everything out, we’re supporting getting all of that there – as well as to the teams’ training facilities – and moving it across borders.”
Sports Business Journal has reported Rock-it estimates of around 5 000 vehicles, one million square feet of warehouse space and more than one million pounds of equipment for the tournament. It also reported that this does not include additional cargo expected from FIFA sponsors and broadcasters.
The North American footprint makes the operation more complex than the previous men’s World Cup in Qatar, where the tournament was held in a much smaller geographic area. This tournament spans three countries, multiple customs systems, major airports, long road corridors, urban stadiums and team base camps.
