Dallas will host FIFA World Cup Soccer in 2026, the league announced Thursday. Eleven host cities were selected in the United States, where a total of 60 games will be played. This will be the first World Cup to see competition between 48 national teams from six confederations.
AT&T Stadium was selected as one of the host locations. It will be the first World Cup soccer match in the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium, but not the first in Dallas. In 1994, Dallas hosted six FIFA World Cup matches at the historic Cotton Bowl venue. Matches were held in six other states across the U.S. as well.
The U.S. will be sharing hosting duties for the 2026 event with Canada and Mexico. This will mark the first time that Canada has hosted a World Cup match. Mexico has hosted two times in the past.
Dallas has been seeking an opportunity to host another World Cup match for nearly a decade. According to a Q&A page from Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director Monica Paul in 2018, the possibility of Dallas being selected was high because of the extensive soccer culture in North Texas.
“The 1994 competition spawned the birth of Major League Soccer (MLS) in 1996 with FC Dallas, then the Dallas Burn, one of the league’s charter clubs,” Paul said in the 2018 interview. “From the National Soccer Hall of Fame that will open in October (2018) at Toyota Stadium to the FC Dallas Academy program, which is considered one of the best in the country, North Texas has become one of the most dynamic soccer communities in the U.S.”
Dan Hunt, Dallas 2026 Host City Bid chairman and president of FC Dallas, said that being selected was a huge honor to the region and the team.
“We are thrilled that FIFA has selected Dallas as a host city for the North American bid and FC Dallas is proud to play an important part in this process.
“The legacy of the 1994 World Cup is a big reason why we’re here today. On the back of that World Cup, Major League Soccer was born. As the league has grown, the appetite for elite-level soccer continues to flourish. There has never been a better moment in time to be involved in the beautiful game than right now,” Hunt said.
All of the cities that were selected currently host professional soccer. Dallas will share the international spotlight of one of the world’s most widely viewed sporting events with Houston. The most recent World Cup drew 3.2 billion viewers. The Cup games also promise to bring a significant cash influx to the region.
It is estimated that the upcoming World Cup games may generate anywhere from $3 to $5 billion in direct economic activity with the creation of approximately 40,000 jobs over the course of the eight-month World Cup season. Each city is expected to experience a net profit of anywhere from $90 million to $480 million per game.
“This is such a great opportunity for Dallas. And such a great opportunity for Texas,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “When you see World Class competition, it raises your level of aspiration. The more I’ve been associated with the Cowboys, the more I’ve seen how meaningful soccer is to sports.”
“AT&T Stadium is one of the world’s premier sports venues, an elite facility worthy of hosting FIFA World Cup 2026,” Jones added in a statement with FC Dallas. “I couldn’t be prouder to welcome one of the world’s most popular sports inside the home of the Dallas Cowboys, and I am confident our fan base will respond with an energy befitting ‘The Beautiful Game.'”
