A year from the 2026 World Cup, leaders of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee are looking forward at final preparations. North Texas will host nine matches, the International Broadcast Centre and a 39 day fan festival.
"This is such a sports-centric, facility-rich community. There's almost nothing else like it anywhere," says FC Dallas President Dan Hunt.
In early 2026, FIFA will announce which cities will host base camps. This week, the North Texas organizing committee announced six possible locations where teams could stay and train: Dallas Baptist University, Mansfield Stadium, TCU, Toyota Stadium, the University of Dallas and the University of North Texas.
"We can sustain six if we get six," Hunt says. "That's the unique thing about this market. The facilities are first class."
Hunt says the Cotton Bowl and SMU could serve as match venues which are used by teams before they play at AT&T Stadium. He says the organizing committee will spend the next year working on safety and security, selling sponsorships and working to prepare volunteers.
"There are so many parts to this, but we also want to make sure we tell the legacy, tell the story of World Cup 2026, so at FC Dallas, as an organization, we're focused on that," he says. "DFW is many cities, but it's a global community."
The United States women's team has won the FIFA World Cup four times; the men advanced to the Round of 16 in 2010, 2014 and 2022. Hunt says hosting nine matches and fan festival can attract the next generation of players.
"We're starting to get really good athletes to [choose soccer], and they're getting the training they need to be great soccer players," he says. "To take the next step up, we need those elite level athletes, the ones you see picking in the NFL or NBA, playing soccer, then the men's team will take that big step forward."