Mexico is less than six months away from hosting its third World Cup. While it will share the tournament with the United States and Canada, the federal government as well as the state governments involved in the summer festival have allocated millions in resources to host the world’s largest sporting competition.
Journalist, researcher and columnist for Grupo Reforma, Peniley Ramirez, published an investigation into the resources that Mexico City has invested in the remodeling of primary roads and the Estadio Azteca for the 2026 World Cup.
Where does CDMX get the resources for the 2026 World Cup renovations?
Peniley Ramirez talks about a modification of the rules in the operation of the Fondo Mixto de Promocion Turistica de la Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City Tourism Promotion Fund) aimed at paying for public works for the World Cup.
That is, a trust in Mexico City to pay for public works for the World Cup involving banks BBVA and HSBC“I had access to confidential contracts and payments that evidence a financing scheme without transparency or supervision,” Ramirez said on X.
How does the trust created by Mexico City and BBVA for the 2026 World Cup work?
In July 2025, the Mexico City Government and BBVA created a private trust for 4 million pesos to finance infrastructure works for the 2026 World Cup; this amount must be paid within five years with the resources collected from the Lodging Tax.
The financial scheme suggests that Mexico City can channel resources without adding them as public debt under the criteria of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and payable over five years, BBVA said at the time.
It should be noted that the Head of Government of Mexico City, Clara Brugada, pointed out at the time that “the works for the World Cup are being financed through a structure that we set up on the Mixed Fund for Tourism Promotion, where instead of using these resources only for advertising, they will be used for permanent infrastructure,” she said at the time.
What will the Lodging Tax be for the 2026 World Cup? Hotels more expensive in Mexico City than in the United States and Canada
According to a report published by Reportur.mx, the lodging tax is already being reflected in Mexico City, where “hotel rates have increased in Mexico City. According to December prices from platforms such as Booking and Expedia, they are the highest among all venues in Mexico, the United States and Canada,” says the text entitled World Cup 2026:Mexico City makes hotels more expensive than USA or Canada.
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