MEXICO CITY - The largest and most complex World Cup in history kicks off in just over a year's time, with the United States, Canada and Mexico co-hosting the football extravaganza against a backdrop of political tension triggered by Donald Trump.
Forty-eight teams and millions of fans are set to descend on North America for the first-ever World Cup shared by three nations, with the tournament getting underway on June 11 next year.
In theory, the 23rd edition of the most popular sporting spectacle on the planet has all the makings of a successful tournament.
An array of venues ranging from Mexico's iconic Estadio Azteca to the glittering $5 billion SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles will play host to 104 games spread over nearly six weeks.
The United States will host the bulk of those fixtures -- 78 -- with Canada and Mexico staging 13 each.
All games from the quarter-finals onwards will be held in the United States, with the tournament culminating in the final at New Jersey's 82,500-seater MetLife Stadium on 19 July 2026.
American officials believe the return of the World Cup to the country -- 32 years after the United States hosted the 1994 finals -- could represent a watershed moment for football in the country.
"The World Cup is going to raise the attention of the sport in ways that nobody ever dreamed of," said Don Garber, the commissioner of Major League Soccer.
FIFA's President Gianni Infantino, meanwhile, has been hyping next year's finals as the equivalent of "104 Super Bowls", contrasting the World Cup's estimated six billion viewers to the 120 million or so who tune in for the climax of the NFL season.
There are historical precedents which suggest the hype might be justified. The 1994 World Cup in the United States remains the best-attended World Cup in history, with an average of 68,600 fans flocking to each game.
Yet while organisers eagerly anticipate a commercial success, with one FIFA estimate suggesting it could generate a mammoth $11-billion in revenues, questions over other aspects of the tournament remain.
The 48 teams -- up from 32 in 2022 -- will be spread into 12 groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the knockout rounds, and the eight best third-placed teams joining them to make up a last 32.That expansion is likely to reduce the sense of jeopardy in the first round, a problem seen in other major championships which have increased in size in recent years. Canada, US, Mexico brace for World Cup extravaganza
.jpeg?ext=.jpeg)
Registering a consistent growth rate of 25-30 per cent, Woodland from the Aero Group thrives to chart further growth by bringing in innovations in its product range. “Technology remains the core area at Woodland and we have tied up with a German company Desma to ensure high quality products. Footwear manufacturing has always been labor-intensive, involving cutting of leather, stitching, sewing and so on; more manpower means more mistakes. To avoid these mistakes, Woodland, in collaboration with Desma would now introduce robots in the manufacturing process. The new technology will reduce manpower by one-third,” explains Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Aero Club. That’s not all, the brand is also planning to change over its entire range of shoes and apparel to quality eco-friendly products in the future. Woodland currently has over 350 company owned exclusive stores across various Indian cities and the brand also has a presence in 4,000 plus multi-brand outlets in a number of countries. “We plan to add another 60 stores in this fiscal,” Singh adds. Elaborating on the product offering, Singh says, “As Woodland is a global adventure brand we focus on the youth. Our brand’s philosophy perfectly matches our target audience and we constantly work towards delivering them the best of products. Apart from being a youth focused brand Woodland offers formal footwear through its sub-brand Woods. This collection pays attention to detail and fine craftsmanship. Woods is available at all Woodland exclusive stores though it also has its stand-alone stores.” Owned by ‘Aero Group’, the brand, ‘Woodland’ originated in Quebec, Canada. Initially it started off by making winter boots and later ventured into India in 1992. “When we entered India, the footwear market was largely unorganized. Woodland created a new category of specialized ‘outdoor adventure sports’ shoes. Our positioning was different and we were known as a rugged, outdoor leather shoe brand, the kind usually preferred by adventurists. The youth took a fancy to our shoes. That was in the beginning and we gradually developed a product line especially for India,” Singh explains. Woodland is already present in the international markets and currently has operations across the globe including countries like Mauritius, Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore, Middle East and Far East. It recently launched an E-store and online sales have surged by over 20 per cent on a month-on-month basis in the last four months. For the online portal, Woodland plans to stock up limited edition products exclusively for online buyers, the ones that are commercially not viable for mass production, on sale. Talking about the eco-friendly approach adopted by the company, Singh says, “We have always been an outdoor brand and very much in tune with nature. Whatever we do, it will never be against the environment but rather in consonance with it. It’s this connect that has been the soul of the brand. We not only build this association through our promotions, but also through our processes and practices. Woodland plans to leverage this association more strongly to further strengthen the brand by changing over its entire range of shoes and apparel to quality eco-friendly products — made with materials and chemicals that don’t harm the nature.”
It aims to capture both the domestic and overseas markets with its eco-friendly products perfectly called as Do U Speak Green. And with its strategies in place, the brand witnessed 100 per cent growth last year. Talking about it, Shishir Goenka, Director, Fusion Clothing Company (Do U Speak Green) says, “We launched ‘Do U Speak Green’, seeing the absence of smart looking clothing for the nature lovers and also the absence of organic clothing in India.” But most importantly, Goenka has a passion for wildlife and environment preservation, hence, the decision to contribute 10 per cent of sales for the environment. “We have been selected by ET Now for their ‘Pioneering Spirit’ TV program, also we are India’s 1st organic brand to sell under our own brand-name in Europe. Our brand is registered as a trademark in the US, Canada, EU and India.” Perhaps what does the trick is the name which asks people on their commitment for the environment and their willingness to get involve. As Goenka says “When someone buys our product, not only do they sport clothes, which do not contain harmful chemicals, but are also contributing to the environment in three ways. They are encouraging the growth of organic cotton, which helps keep the land free of harmful chemicals and fertilizers; the amount is directly contributed by our company to WWF-India which can help them undertake more conservation activities; and last but not the least, they are indirectly helping farmers in higher realizations of money and keeping them healthy and debt free.” In fact, the company has put up a video on their web-store – douspeakgreen.in, showing how the cultivation of conventional cotton is killing farmers. They do not have protection from pesticides and the soil and environment is damaged. The brand offers styles for men, women, kids and newborns. It uses organic cotton and bamboo cotton fabrics with eco friendly dyes and water based prints. The brand has also roped in designer Satya Paul to create a special collection for WWF-India. And their association with ACK Media is to create T-shirts with characters from their Amar Chitra Katha and Tinkle comics. It has also formed an association with Shop for Change to extend its product offerings. Commenting on the retail front, Goenka says, “We are selling through 26 MBOs and resorts and already have a distributor in Sweden and an agent in the UK. We also sell through our web-store douspeakgreen.in as well as other e-commerce sites like Homeshop 18 and Craftsvilla.
