Apple is preparing its Sports app for one of the biggest global events of the decade. The company has added support for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, making it easier to track matches, teams, and tournament progress in real time.
The tournament begins on June 11 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and runs through July 19. It will feature 48 national teams across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, making it the largest World Cup in history. With this update, Apple is positioning its Sports app as a central place to follow the event from start to finish.
World Cup tracking is now built directly into Apple Sports
As first spotted by MacRumors, the 2026 FIFA World Cup now appears inside the app’s search interface. You can add it to your “My Leagues” section by tapping the star icon, which keeps upcoming matches and tournament updates easy to access.
If you prefer following specific teams, Apple lets you track them individually through the “My Teams” section. Both lists can be managed from the edit menu, giving you control over what shows up in your feed.
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Once matches begin, Apple Sports will automatically surface Live Activities with real-time scores and stats. These appear on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island, letting you track games without opening the app. As the tournament progresses, the app will also show group standings and playoff brackets leading up to the final.
Apple is quietly expanding Sports into a daily-use app
This update fits into Apple’s broader push to make the Sports app more useful beyond occasional score checks. The app already supports multiple leagues across soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, and racing in regions including the United States, Mexico, Europe, and Brazil.
Adding the World Cup matters because it turns the app into something people can rely on daily for over a month. With real-time updates built into system-level features like Live Activities, Apple is reducing the need to jump between apps or search for scores.
The change is simple, but the timing is deliberate. By integrating the World Cup early, Apple gives users time to set up their teams and leagues before the first match kicks off. That small step makes the app far more useful once the tournament actually begins.
For anyone planning to follow the 2026 World Cup closely, Apple Sports now offers a clean, low-friction way to keep up without extra setup or noise.
