The buzz and excitement surrounding Friday’s Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026™ was palpable amid the clamour and activity at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC. During the days preceding the novel sports and entertainment spectacle, at which the qualified teams and millions of fans will learn their FIFA World Cup opponents, hundreds of workers were installing the broadcast and media facilities, infrastructure, and signage that will temporarily transform the iconic complex on the Potomac River into the centre of the football world. “Tomorrow is going to be a fantastic day at the Kennedy Center,” FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said on Thursday. “We can feel the excitement building. It’s going to be an amazing show.” Preparation and rehearsals have been ramping up. Anticipation has been rising. And taking it all in was FIFA Legend and former England captain Rio Ferdinand, a three-time FIFA World Cup™ participant who will conduct the Final Draw alongside renowned international broadcaster Samantha Johnson. “We’re a couple of days out from being one of the hosts at the FIFA World Cup™ draw which is just, for me, for where I’m from, a wild dream,” Ferdinand said Wednesday in Washington. “Coming here today, and the last couple of days, and being in the hotel and being in this environment—just seeing the amount of work that goes into just this part, let alone all the other aspects that happen and the elements of creating a (FIFA) World Cup. So, that just fills me with pride, 100%.”

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be historic in scale and scope while establishing a new era of excitement and inclusion for the world’s game. Across 16 cosmopolitan Host Cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States, a record 48 teams will play a combined 104 matches in pursuit of the highest honour in sport. In Washington, Ferdinand and his colleagues are readying for a show designed to match the glamour and grandeur of next year’s tournament. Hosted by Kevin Hart, Heidi Klum and Danny Ramirez and featuring unforgettable musical performances by Andrea Bocelli, Robbie Williams and Nicole Scherzinger, the draw will represent an appropriately sensational kick-off to an unprecedented festival of football. “As a fan, I sit there and watch these events all the time, because I want to see where my country is going to be placed. Who is their first game? All these things here that really make for the build-up, then the runway into the (FIFA) World Cup.” Ferdinand said. “So, I can’t wait,” he continued. “Some of the guests we’ve got coming, some of the stars and surprises we have for you guys [are] going to be really, really crazy exquisite.”

Ferdinand also will be supported by a group of illustrious North American athletes who reached legendary status in their respective sports. The stars of that compelling crossover are seven-time NFL Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Wayne Gretzky, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Shaquille O’Neal and Major League Baseball star Aaron Judge, a three-time MVP. That famous four will serve as draw assistants, while two-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Eli Manning will join them as the red carpet host. Of course, the central attraction will be the draw itself, and the tension, relief or apprehension that accompanies the reveal of each of the 12 World Cup groups and every nation’s path to potential glory. The three host nations will be seeded in pot 1 along with the nine teams rated highest in the FIFA/Coca-Cola Men’s World Ranking released in November. The remaining 30 confirmed participants will be allocated to pots 2, 3 and 4 based on ranking, while six placeholders in pot 4 will represent the eventual survivors of the FIFA Play-Off Tournament and European play-offs scheduled for March. “The coaches from 64 teams—so the teams that qualified and also the playoff teams—are here,” Mr Grafström said. “The delegations, the broadcasters, and of course our partners as well, and dignitaries from different countries. The host countries will also be here. We can feel that DC is buzzing.”

Ferdinand was in enthusiastic agreement. “It starts getting tasty. It starts getting tantalising, and you can start really feeling where we’re going to [be set up], look at the road—the route— to the final, the semi-finals, the quarter-finals,” he said. “All of those aspects really start from here, up on this stage. “ Ferdinand is accustomed to thriving under the brightest spotlights. The former West Ham United FC, Leeds United FC and Manchester United FC star played for England at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup™, starting all 10 matches across the two tournaments. He also captained Manchester United to victory in the 2008 UEFA Champions League final and the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup™ final. Ferdinand is looking forward to flourishing again when the lights come on in Washington. “Thank you to the powers that be that really put my name here and said, ‘Listen, yeah, go on, do it’,” he said. “I really want to do a good job and I really want to do the job the justice it deserves, because it’s a huge moment.” The Final Draw will be broadcast live on FIFA.com and by FIFA’s media partners around the world starting at 12:00 ET (18:00 CET). “We’ll know the path all the way to the final on the 19th of July in New York,” Mr Grafström said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun and I’m very much looking forward to it together with everybody here in DC.”