Fanatics Fest will return to New York’s Javits Center in 2026 with an expanded show alongside the World Cup final, sources with knowledge of the event confirmed to cllct.
According to industry sources, Fanatics Fest 2026 will expand to cover four days from July 16 to July 19. The 2026 FIFA World Cup final is scheduled to take place less than 10 miles away at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.
Organized by veteran showrunner Lance Fensterman, the 2026 event will be the third flagship collectibles show under the Fanatics Events umbrella. Fanatics Fest 2025, which was held in June, saw more than 125,000 fans visit the Javits Center across three days.
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Originally designed with the goal of becoming more of a comic con for sports fans than a traditional trading card show, Fanatics Fest debuted in 2024 to a crowd of 70,000 fans and collectors over three days.
The first event mostly delivered, with a clear objective to reach younger sports fans and collectors through games and activities in collaboration with brands and professional sports leagues.
Fanatics Fest 2025 continued to build on that foundation while fixing issues from its debut, including the reorganization of autograph signings and the expansion of the card show.
Previously held in August 2024 and June 2025, Fanatics Fest 2026’s shift to July is driven by the desire to align with the World Cup and integrate FIFA into the event, sources told cllct.
Partnerships with global soccer leagues have been a priority for Fanatics in recent years, with the most notable move arriving through an exclusive deal with the Premier League to create Topps trading cards.
Though a July event aligns with the World Cup, the timing for Fanatics Fest 2026 stands to create friction with some collectors and other key card shows.
Fanatics Fest’s move into July places it just 10 days from the start of the 2026 National Sports Collectors Convention in Rosemont, Illinois, from July 29 to Aug. 2.
Fanatics Fest 2026 will also directly overlap with dates for the West Coast Card Show in Anaheim, California, and the Dallas Card Show, both of which are among the largest trading card shows in the industry.
According to industry sources, Fanatics Fest has no plans to directly compete with other major events beyond next summer, and plans for a return to June beyond 2026.
Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.