GLOBE Cup Challenge

During the World Cup, from 11 June to 19 July 2026, join the GLOBE Program in collecting environmental data where the world plays soccer (football)!

Go to your local soccer (football) field, park, schoolyard, or anywhere people play, and take observations:

Whether you play soccer (football), cheer from the sidelines, coach a team, or simply live near a field, you can help investigate the environment where soccer (football) is played in your community. Is the field surrounded by trees, buildings, dirt, or pavement? Is it grass, artificial turf, or another surface? How do temperatures compare from one day to the next — and how does your local field compare to fields around the world? How does your field compare to the surrounding areas?

World Cup athletes will compete on cultivated grass fields in a wide range of environmental conditions. Your observations can help us explore how playing environments differ across regions, climates, and field surfaces.

How to Participate

To participate, join the GLOBE Team in your region (listed below) and submit complete observations throughout the challenge. Let’s see which GLOBE region is the biggest soccer (football) fan! We’ll track participation around the world and highlight observations and soccer (football) fields from different GLOBE regions.

Bonus: Include your soccer ball (football) in your “Down Photo” so we can see where the world plays!

Soccer ball on a pavement surface with feet in flipflops.

Three soccer balls on grass and a foot in a tennis shoe.

Regional GLOBE Teams (join one):

Learn more about the challenge in the upcoming GLOBE Observer Connect: Kicking Off the GLOBE Cup Challenge on 11 June at 12:00 ET (16:00 UTC).

Good luck to the World Cup athletes (and fans) of the 48 teams competing in the FIFA World Cup 2026!