I went to AT&T Stadium Sunday for the announcement of match assignments for the 2026 World Cup. The media relations folk explained everyone was going to watch the announcement together and then come up to talk to reporters in phases: first, DFW sports icons, then mayors, then Jerry Jones and the head of the Dallas Sports Commission.
“I feel like they wouldn’t truck so many celebrities in front of us if they didn’t get some intel on what would happen,” I told all the TV photographers gathered at AT&T Stadium even though they hadn’t asked.
The announcement wasn’t just, “Hey, here’s who gets all the matches.” FIFA is nothing if not a connoisseur of pomp and circumstance. They hosted an hour long show explaining why each city was chosen.
They also brought in Kevin Hart to bring some levity to the situation.
They first announced Mexico’s assignments then Canada’s, which will include matches in Toronto and Vancouver. Montreal had withdrawn from consideration to host matches. The city said it was because of the cost of hosting the event, but I feel like we all know it’s because they’re focused on the return of Major League Baseball.
FIFA spent time analyzing the decision and celebrating each city. This will be the first World Cup match in Toronto, and Kevin Hart gave the hosts a lesson on how to pronounce the city’s name.
“This is getting serious,” I thought to myself. “I wonder which Kardashian sister will lead the announcement for the matches in the US.”
We then learned the first match in the United States would take place in Los Angeles, with Kim Kardashian explaining her son believes she’s an embarrassing soccer mom.
Then they announced New York/New Jersey would get the finals instead of DFW. Turns out the celebrities watching at the stadium really didn’t know. Dirk Nowitzki and Emmitt Smith both say they were disappointed, but North Texas is getting more matches than any other location, so this is an opportunity to introduce ourselves to the rest of the world.
After the athletes spoke, the bid committee brought out the mayors of some of the cities in the Metroplex. The mayor of Arlington noticed a drop in enthusiasm.
But since everything’s bigger in Texas, DFW will be hosting the most matches total. The mayor of Frisco, where FC Dallas plays, says they’ve already got $2 billion in commercial development coming in anticipation of the World Cup. The mayor of Arlington says since AT&T Stadium is getting nine matches, that’ll bring a lot of people to town who will likely bring their wallet, giving the cities tax revenue to build roads and whatnot.
You really can’t talk about economic development in the Metroplex, though, without discussing the work of JR Ewing. The mayor of Dallas mentioned him, adding it’s important now to “immediately pivot to the business at hand which is hosting the world’s biggest party in 2026.”
Loyal Scaiaholics will recall the world may still just be learning about North Texas. A few years ago, John Cleese came here and explained this was the only station in America that would play Monty Python.
“In England, in the old days, we thought people in Dallas basically ate their own children,” he said.
But he says he’s now glad to have met people here and learned we’re quite proud.
The president of FC Dallas may not have mentioned Texans eating their young, but he did say Europeans may still think the US is just New York City et al.
Upon hearing the announcement, athletes, mayors and business leaders may have had reactions similar to the gentlemen of Pace Picante sauce, but North Texas is a can-do region [even though we’re more than JR Ewing, we can still boast about our bold Southwest flavor]. Jerry Jones says we’ll still celebrate each of the matches played here, and we’ll celebrate the number of visitors coming for nine matches instead of one. They’ll get to know our people and customs. Even though the final will be played in New York City, people will spend more time here sampling real salsa.
Or maybe North Texas just didn’t deliver a big enough bribe to FIFA.
