FIFA Announces Dallas Will Host 9 World Cup Matches

The World Cup is still two years away, but Dallas is already a winner. At a press conference Sunday hosted at Arlington's AT&T Stadium, media members, celebrities and local officials gathered to watch the official FIFA schedule announcement.

From June 11, through July 19, 2026, the World Cup will have 104 games over 16 cities in North America, with 11 in the U.S.

This marks the first time the men's World Cup will take place across three different countries: Mexico, Canada and the U.S. The opening match is on June 11, in Mexico City in Aztec Stadium. The games will continue in Toronto on June 12; Los Angeles will host the first game in the U.S. also on June 12.

This isn't the only first. The tournament has expanded from 32 participating teams to 48.

In a press conference that included Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki, former Dallas Cowboy Emmitt Smith and Dallas Stars former goaltender Marty Turco, it was announced that North Texas will host the most matches of any city, nine, including one semifinal game, at AT&T Stadium on July 14. Of the 104 World Cup games, Dallas is hosting the most. "This is the biggest event in the world," said Nowitzki, who spoke about growing up in Germany where people have "soccer in their DNA." Nowitzki says he has watched soccer become more popular in the U.S. since English star David Beckham first made his way to LA Galaxy in the early 2000s.

For the portion of the announcement that was televised, FIFA enlisted Kevin Hart, Drake and the  "World's most famous soccer Mom" Kim Kardashian, who announced Los Angeles as the first host city in the U.S.

Suffice to say, FIFA is really trying to spur a pandemic of soccer fever, following the tradition of Latin America and Europe. The sport is having a bit of a renaissance in the U.S. with Inter Miami recruiting star players Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. This week, FC Dallas made a landmark signing with Petar Musa in a deal worth nearly $10 million.

Also in attendance at the Arlington press conference were Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Fort Worth Councilwoman Macy Hill.

The city of Frisco, said Mayor Cheney, will be investing 100 million into the historic downtown to "show off" the city.

"We saw the Messi impact," said the Frisco mayor of the recent two games that brought Inter Miami to matches against FC Dallas, to record attendance.

Beyond its cultural significance, the men's World Cup is a major economic boon. According to a report by Forbes, FIFA brought $7.5 billion in revenue after the last World Cup in Qatar — which saw Argentina take the cup in a match of giants between Argentina's captain Lionel Messi and previous World Cup champion France and Kylian Mbappe — of which Qatar reportedly banked $1.56 billion. Qatar, however, had reported investing $220 billion into hosting, making the World Cup a major financial loss.

For the 2026 soccer championship, Arlington Mayor Jim Ross was asked at the press conference whether his city's lack of public transportation may have hindered Arlington's bid for a final.

"If you've ever experienced coming in and out of here, we get people in and out as good, if not better, than any other city in the country," said Ross. "So we do have a public transportation system. We're just not assigned to a transit authority."

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he hadn't been given any reasons why FIFA didn't pick AT&T Stadium for the final. But, he pointed out, Arlington is a city that was able to support three Taylor Swift concerts, "Which is as big as the World Cup."

Before Sunday's announcement, Dallas was projected to earn $300-400 million in revenue for hosting — which should cover Dallas' rising rent for about a month. Though at the Sunday press conference, the numbers hadn't yet been calculated to account for the economic impact of hosting nine games.

Other host cities include Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Kansas City, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Miami.

Dallas will host its first game on June 14, with subsequent group-stage matches on June 17, June 22, June 25 and June 27. Round of 32 matches are on June 30, and July 3. The next game (round of 16) is July 6. The semifinal game in Dallas will be played on July 14.

The final game is on July 19, at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. You can register for tickets on FIFA's website.

"This is fabulous," said Cowboys owner Jerry Jones of the news. "This is easily the most significant sports event that has taken place in our region."

To explain to North Texans the impact of the nine games, FC Dallas president Dan Hunt offered, "It's like nine Super Bowls."