FIFA's leadership toured AT&T Stadium this week as North Texas tries to secure matches deep in the 2026 World Cup. The World Cup will be played in North America, and Dallas was chosen as one of 16 host cities.
FIFA has not yet announced which cities will host which levels of play. FIFA World Cup Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said the organization is touring candidates to see which areas have stadiums that can best host large matches.
"There is a lot of competition, which is always great," he said. "We have the option in this great country to have so many stadia that would be a good potential final venue."
At AT&T Stadium, Schirgi said FIFA was looking for stadiums that could handle large crowds but also those best set up for soccer matches at the highest level.
"Obviously one focus is the pitches," he said at AT&T Stadium. "We're looking at the pitch conversion and how to make this a natural grass surface that will actually survive the duration of the tournament, which is not easy, which is a huge challenge."
Schirgi said FIFA would start making decisions closer to the end of the year, but he said North Texas has shown how well different cities and the private sector work together.
"What I like about it is the team we have here," he said. "Everybody is cooperating between the city, the stadium, the surrounding areas, the police, everybody's collaborating really well."
"Every chance we get to interact with them is an opportunity to show what we're all about," Dallas Cowboys Executive Vice President of Business Operations Chad Estis said. "I think Texas hospitality has been a part of it. It started from the first time we had an opportunity to engage with them."
The Dallas Sports Commission hopes to draw the 2026 World Cup Final. Executive Director Monica Paul said the visit gave the area a chance to highlight AT&T Stadium as a potential venue and also show how many stadiums the area has that can be used as practice facilities and how many venues can host other events surrounding the World Cup.
"This will be the largest event we've ever seen here in the North Texas area," Paul said. "In essence, you have everything a Super Bowl has. Obviously, we will have the match here at AT&T Stadium, but you'll have the fan festivals taking place across the Metroplex, the other experiences our visitors coming in from around the world will be able to take in. In essence, possibly we may have eight matches here at AT&T Stadium, we'd be looking at roughly eight Super Bowls as well."
Paul said they have also highlighted transportation advantages with DFW Airport offering direct flights to 63 international destinations, and every city in the continental United States can be reached within four hours.
"We're honestly just humbled and honored to be a host city of any matches regardless of the number of matches or level of matches in 2026," she said.