AT&T Stadium and Dallas will host 9 World Cup matches in 2026, including a semifinal
ARLINGTON, Texas - AT&T Stadium and Dallas has been selected to host nine matches in the 2026 World Cup, FIFA announced Sunday. That includes a semifinal match and five group stage matches.
Those group stage games will be on June 14, June 17, June 22, June 25, and June 27.
ARLINGTON, TEXAS - APRIL 01: An aerial drone view of AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys NFL football team plays, on April 01, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. The NBA, NHL, NCAA and MLB have all announced cancellations or postponements of events
Then it will host Round of 32 matches on June 30 and July 3, followed by a Round of 16 game on July 6, and then a semifinal on July 14.
The nine matches hosted at AT&T Stadium will be the most of any venue for the 2026 World Cup.
There was a lot of excitement when it was announced all the games that would be played at AT&T Stadium, but when it came to the final, FIFA revealed MetLife Stadium in New Jersey would host.
For more than a year, various outlets hinted AT&T Stadium was the favorite for the final.
"The perception of going up against a New York / New Jersey was something we weren’t sure we could combat, but at the end of the day, we are now in the discussion," said Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission.
Jerry Jones took the podium, along with mayors from Dallas, Arlington, and Frisco.
They emphasized the fact that North Texas will host the most matches of any venue in the 2026 World Cup, but there was no denying there was disappointment in the room that the World Cup Final will not be here.
What felt like a defeat to some was actually a historic success for North Texas.
North Texans excited for 2026 World Cup, but disappointed AT&T Stadium didn't get the final
North Texas soccer fans were disappointed when they found out AT&T Stadium won’t host the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final. However, there's a lot of excitement for what the World Cup means in general for the growth of soccer in the DFW Metroplex.
"It was a hell of a battle. We almost got there, but I don’t want it to any way, from my perspective, to take away from how hard we’re going to work to each one of these games, notable beyond any other contest that we have," Jerry Jones.
"This is like nine Super Bowls that we are going to get right here in our backyard," Dan Hunt said.
AT&T Stadium’s natural grass field will have to be raised to expand the width and comply with the tournament’s measurements.
Back in June 2022, North Texas was chosen as one of 11 U.S. cities that will host World Cup matches, but the Dallas World Cup Bid Committee continued work to make sure high profile games would be played here in the DFW Metroplex. That included hosting FIFA's top World Cup executives for a tour of AT&T Stadium.
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AT&T Stadium in Arlington will host matches, while Toyota Stadium in Frisco, the Cotton Bowl, Fair Park, and Globe Life Field can be used for training areas.
AT&T Stadium to get $180M renovation ahead of 2026 World Cup
The new upgrades are a part of the $295 million renovation plan for the 14-year-old stadium that was announced last year.
For the second time, Dallas and North Texas will be a host city for the FIFA World Cup. The last time Dallas hosted a World Cup match was a quarterfinal match in 1994 at the Cotton Bowl.
Dallas is also bidding for the International Broadcast Center at Fair Park, something Dallas had in 1994, as well as the central referee location and the operating base for FIFA.
All three will be announced at a later date.
The Dallas Sports Commission previously projected at least a $400 million revenue impact to the region by being a World Cup host city, but that number is expected to increase with nine games being played here.
Focus shifts to planning for Dallas' World Cup matches
North Texas is set to host nine FIFA World Cup matches in 2026, more than any other site in the United States. However, despite rumors, AT&T Stadium will not host the championship game. FOX 4's Paige Ellenberger talked to the head of the Dallas Sports Commission about the announcement and the next steps.
The main thing people brought up on social media when AT&T Stadium was previously rumored to be hosting an important match was a lack of public transportation.
While DART and TRE trains don’t go to AT&T Stadium, officials said they plan to bus people to and from the stadium.
"We will look to do something very similar to what we did for the Final Four and college football playoff," Monica Paul, who is executive director for the Dallas Sports Commission, told FOX 4 back when North Texas was announced as a host city in 2022. "And we actually started testing it out during WrestleMania."
Arlington Mayor Jim Ross was asked if the lack of public transportation caused FIFA to choose MetLife for the finals.
Ross assured that wasn’t the deciding factor.
"Just because we don’t assign ourselves to a particular authority at this particular moment, people think…is that going to be a problem? Absolutely not," Ross said.
Jones instead pointed to the fact it was an uphill battle to go up against New York and other coastal cities when talking about travel convenience.
"If this was totally just America and just the U.S., that wouldn’t have been such a formidable thing to overcome. But internationally that’s formidably to overcome. This team came that close to overcoming it," he explained.
The 2026 tournament will be the biggest ever World Cup, expanded to 48 teams with 104 matches, and 11 U.S., three Mexican, and two Canadian cities will host games.
The other cities that will host games are Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Guadalajara, Mexico; Kansas City, Atlanta, Houston, Monterrey, Mexico City, Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, New York, New Jersey.