Billions of people around the world will be watching their favourite teams compete in football’s biggest competition this summer. But do you know what goes on behind the scenes to keep the World Cup running smoothly from a linguistic perspective?
The 2026 World Cup is due to be the most linguistically diverse World Cup there has ever been. More nations are competing than ever before, and the three separate host nations speak three core languages between them. The 2026 World Cup has 48 nations competing in matches held across stadiums in Canada, Mexico, and the US. With teams, coaching staff, media, and viewers all speaking different languages, smooth communication is vital for the organisation, coaching, and broadcast of the tournament.
From the 13 teams that participated in the first ever World Cup held in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930, the competition has grown enormously, both in participation and spectatorship. There are now an estimated 5 billion fans of the beautiful game. Originally broadcast through radio, the tournament now involves multiple platforms, with fans eagerly awaiting updates in their own languages.
Language Services Department
The World Cup is run by FIFA, the international governing body for football, which has 211 member associations. To handle communication with members and stakeholders, the organisation has its own Language Services Department. The body has official congress and administrative languages and produces documentation and announcements that are translated into its official languages. This number has grown from 4 official languages, French, English, Spanish, and German, to 7, with the addition of Arabic, Portuguese, and Russian as congress languages before the 2022 competition.
Caitlin Stephens, the Deputy Head of Language Services noted that “FIFA’s translators have to be both good specialists and generalists,”. This is understandable considering that the linguists have to translate text from creative, editorial texts for its magazine, FIFA 1904, to technical handbooks, legal documents, and governance reports.
Localising in the Stadium
To handle the language element of the World Cup and numerous events and meetings that take place in the lead-up, FIFA hires freelance interpreters, and works with various partners and agencies. Beyond the stadium’s playing field we see in person or on TV, stadiums often have a series of spaces designed to host various media, whether for commentary, capturing interviews, or broadcasting.
Many of these spaces surround the Players’ Tunnel, including a “Mixed Zone” and “Flash Interview” area, as well as a Press Conference Room, ready to capture information and insights for potentially billions of eager viewers. With all of these sites designed to share the tournament with global audiences, interpretation is needed in various settings, and services have to be highly coordinated. For the 2026 World Cup, various interpretation management staff will work to oversee the interpreting services, communicating with the various stakeholders including media staff and interpreters, and ensuring operations run smoothly.
Interpreting on the Pitch
Translation also plays a huge part in the games themselves, with referees, coaching staff, and players of diverse languages and nationalities, and diversity within individual clubs themselves. Managers and coaching staff need to be able to communicate strategy and tactics and understand information when managing teams of other nationalities. A prime example is José Mourinho, the renowned football manager, who worked as an assistant and interpreter for English coach Bobby Robson in the early days of his career, gaining the nickname “The Translator”, before going on to become a manager himself. He interpreted for Robson and shared strategy with players, as well as interpreting at press conferences.
For players moving to other nations’ clubs and being non-native speakers, it is important to understand the tactical briefings tailored to the individual matches and opposition, and also to be able to communicate with media during their many media commitments. Clubs may offer language classes, and employ interpreters or multilingual staff to help players transition and excel within their new teams.
So with the World Cup fast approaching, we’ll have the opportunity to see the intersections of cultures and languages in action, and appreciate the work of linguists and services staff to keep communication running smoothly. All of this work behind the scenes is what allows us to enjoy the tournament in all its multinational glory.
If you’d like help sharing your message with an international audience (even if not on the scale of the World Cup!) get in touch with us here!
13 May 2026 10:58