Overview
- Multiple outlets report that FIFA has scheduled the group stage draw for Friday, December 5, 2025, in Las Vegas.
- Sources indicate that The Sphere—with its 17,500-seat capacity and 54,000-square-metre LED display—is the frontrunner to stage the ceremony.
- Las Vegas will not host matches after FIFA declined the city’s financial return guarantees and found Allegiant Stadium’s field dimensions noncompliant with regulations.
- The draw will place 48 teams—covering automatic qualifiers and those emerging from inter-confederation playoffs—into 12 groups of four nations.
- The decision mirrors Las Vegas’s role in 1994, when it hosted the World Cup draw without staging any tournament matches.