Killer Mike announced as ambassador for 2026 FIFA World Cup
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be jointly hosted by three North American countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Ahead of the tournament next summer, Killer Mike has been announced as Atlanta’s celebrity ambassador.
The next World Cup will be the first to include 48 teams and the first to be hosted by three countries. Argentina are the defending champions, having won the tournament in Qatar in 2022. Atlanta is one of the host cities for 2026, and Mike will be at the heart of the action.
“I’m looking forward to FIFA coming here, because I know the city is going to progress and grow and never be the same again,” he told Rolling Stone. “This reminds me of when the Olympics came in the ’90s and how it grew the city. I want kids in Atlanta to understand that there’s nothing in the world that you can want to do that you can’t do right from Atlanta.”
Killer Mike is Atlanta through and through. While he describes himself as a “casual watcher” of football, Mike often attends Atlanta United games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“A lot of times, people think sports is just about male machismo, but really it’s family,” he said. “I’m encouraged by soccer growing in Atlanta and the fever people have for Atlanta United and the greater game. Atlanta is an international city.”
Speaking on Pelé being his first introduction to football, he said, “Our teachers were interested in us knowing that Black people were not just in the United States, but that we were all over the world. So, one of the easiest ways to teach a bunch of unruly boys in the classroom about the world is to give them people who look like them.”
Mike won three awards at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in 2024, picking up ‘Best Rap Album’, ‘Best Rap Song’ and ‘Best Rap Performance’. He’s also half of the successful Run The Jewels duo alongside El-P.