While the Tempo have been unable to draft a team due to ongoing CBA negotiations, they have hired veteran WNBA head coach Sandy Brondello to lead the team through their inaugural season. Brondello comes to Toronto following a decade of success in the WNBA, as she previously led the Phoenix Mercury (2014) and the New York Liberty (2024) to WNBA championships.
The tournament was expanded to include 20 teams in 2024, and the number of competitors will remain the same this year. However, there was a late change in the team list as the ICC expelled Bangladesh from the tournament following a weeks-long impasse on their participation. Scotland replaced Bangladesh, who were kicked out due to their refusal to travel to India for the World Cup over security concerns.
Industry leaders warn that this dangerously narrow narrative ignores the wider nightlife ecosystem - including nightclubs, bars, casinos, theatres, live music venues, and late-night cultural spaces - all of which are under severe threat. Business rates across the night-time economy are set to rise by an average of 76%, with 50% of nightclubs and venues facing increases of 50% or more, and some operators bracing for 100-200% rises from April 2026. Independent venues are particularly at risk, with little financial headroom to absorb these unprecedented costs.
The 2026 World Cup draw kicks off at 9 a.m. at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., where President Donald Trump and a host of high-profile guests and performers will be on hand as the 42 teams that have already qualified learn their group-stage assignments. The remaining six spots of the expanded 48-team field will be determined through separate tournaments in March before the 23rd World Cup officially begins in June.
