Kansas City’s long-shot pitch to win the 2026 World Cup
For years, travelers have written off Kansas City, Missouri, as nothing more than a patch of flyover country on the way to somewhere better. That view is about to flip. This summer, the sporting world—and hundreds of thousands of soccer fans—will land squarely in the middle of the American Midwest.
Arrowhead Stadium, home to the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, will host six World Cup matches, including a possible quarterfinal between Argentina and Portugal that could feature Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The 76,000-seat venue beat out major markets like Chicago, Detroit, Orlando and Washington, D.C.—all of which hosted the 1994 World Cup—to land a spot among 11 U.S. cities for the 2026 tournament.
How did a city ranked 37th in population pull this off? It started with a trademark. In 2013, Kansas City declared itself the “Soccer Capital of America” and poured more than $650 million into stadiums and training facilities. When FIFA officials came for a site visit, the local organizing committee pulled out all the stops—and then some.
“We did crazy things,” said Alan Dietrich, COO of MLS’s Sporting Kansas City. Volunteers from the club staff roamed the airport terminal late at night to make it look busy. Drivers pointed out the future airport site on the ride into town. Hotel rooms overlooked a billboard reading “We Want The Cup.” Outside, impromptu soccer games were staged on grass fields. FIFA officials extended their stay to catch a U.S. Women’s National Team match.
Kansas City turned its perceived weaknesses into selling points. Traffic jams? Minimal. Airport-to-stadium commute? Twenty-two minutes. The city locked down buses faster than any other bidder. “We just wanted it more,” said Jake Reid, president of Sporting KC and the local organizing committee.
After winning the bid, the city kept hustling. Argentina, England and the Netherlands chose Kansas City as their base camps. Algeria picked nearby Lawrence, Kansas, drawn by its quiet, hilly setting and halal food options. England’s coach, Thomas Tuchel, even promised to get a commemorative tattoo if the team wins—and Dietrich and Reid agreed to join him.
“I didn’t think we’d ever host a World Cup,” said former U.S. goalkeeper Alan Mayer, who played for the Kansas City Comets in the 1980s. “Now, hundreds of thousands of people from every corner of the globe will see what this city can do.”