World Cup Cover Preview

You haven't seen your cover completed with the Sports Illustrated title on yet, is that correct?

Not yet, no, not yet, I'm very excited to see that.

I'm excited to see it.

Alright, let's see it.

Oh wow.

Oh, OK, that looks cool.

Oh, nice.

Wow, that is so exciting.

I love it.

Whoa.

That's great.

It's everything I was hoping for and much more.

It's already World Cup fever here in the Sports Illustrated studio, because guys, the greatest tournament ever is basically around the corner.

So we here at Sports Illustrated have created our biggest ever series of covers .

48 covers of the 48 teams taking part.

I'm Steven Sklai, the creative director of Sports Illustrated.

Um, for the 2026 World Cup preview, we reached out to artists around the world to pair an artist with each team represented in the expanded 48 team roster.

Uh , we use the FIFA guidelines of birthplace heritage and places lived to basically qualify an artist for each national team.

The biggest challenge was finding 48 illustrators connected to all the teams in the World Cup when the artists have a.

Direct connection with these communities and cultures, um, the rest kind of like kind of flowed seamlessly.

Other artists focused on like familiar scenes that they would see around town.

I even had an artist kind of pitch an idea and then just walk outside, snap a picture and say see.

Of course the World Cup is about superstars.

At first when I set out the project, uh, I think the true joy of the tournament is how it stems, uh, it stems away from that and just brings communities and cultures together.

Of course with some teams you have you needed to include the superstars with Jamal in Spain.

Holland and Norway Messi in Argentina.

I think it's great pro project and I think I'll see a lot of colorful, um, bright, amazing designs.

I think it's huge for us that we can showcase that many different people.

Um, and it's great that the sport brought that together for them.

So as illustrators to be celebrated in that way that , you know, the World Cup is happening, uh, there was this project to, to include art and artists and to put them forward in that way, is also really special.

I think the significant thing about this project and the amazing thing about this project is that the artists are from that particular country.

I think that's a huge storytelling win.

Hopefully this project captures those voices that um, A bit unconventional, a bit surprising, uh, I love Sports Illustrated so much, nobody tells stories better than them with photography.

I love that they've leaned into the illustration for this assignment, and I think it definitely elevates, Any larger event package.

It's just a such an interesting window into the, the excitement around um each, each country's team, and I think I'm just really excited to see all of these together and see like all these different perspectives on this, this massive like expanded field and this crazy summer that we're gonna have.