After years of intrigue about which cities FIFA would choose to host the premier matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, soccer’s global governing body largely followed the plan laid out by the organizers of the joint U.S.-Canada-Mexico bid in their 2018 proposal. N.Y./N.J. will host the Final, Dallas and Atlanta will host the semifinals and L.A. and Mexico City will host opening matches in their respective countries. (The original bid didn’t identify a host for the Canadian opener — FIFA chose Toronto over Vancouver).
Despite Dallas being tabbed as a semifinal site in the initial bid, many informed observers felt FIFA was leaning toward AT&T Stadium to host the final ahead of the big reveal. An unconfirmed U.K. Sun report last month that identified Dallas as FIFA’s choice solidified its perception as the favorite.
Even N.Y./N.J. host committee leaders felt they had been fighting an uphill battle convincing FIFA that the nation’s largest and most-visited metro area was the right choice for the world’s most-watched sporting event. The group made a big push last summer in private conversations with FIFA and via a robust public relations campaign, but organizers on both sides of the Hudson River worried that FIFA wanted a more manageable city that it could more completely take over from a branding and mindshare perspective. There were also concerns that MetLife Stadium lacks some of the pizzazz of AT&T Stadium, and that FIFA would look favorably upon the public support provided by Texas’ Events Trust Funds.
N.J. Gov. Phil Murphy told SBJ that while his confidence level fluctuated throughout the courting process, he was heartened after a visit from Gianni Infantino last Monday. The FIFA president met with the owners of the Jets and Giants and had lunch with Murphy, N.Y. Mayor Eric Adams and a group of about 20 CEOs and business leaders before taking one final tour of MetLife Stadium.
“I think it was a combination of the hard math and finances that this was a smart move for FIFA, which is a nonprofit, and the bigger picture,” Murphy said of why FIFA chose the area. “The stuff that I felt really resonated was the diversity of the region, the values that we hold, which are very consistent with FIFA’s values, and the legacy the impact on the game that will be felt for decades after.”
Playfly Premier Partnerships President John Kristick, who served as executive director of the United Bid Committee, said N.Y./N.J. checked more big-picture boxes than Dallas, even if AT&T Stadium could have potentially offered a greater game-day revenue opportunity for FIFA based on its larger capacity and premium offerings.
“Whether it’s Fan Fest in some of the iconic places that New York and New Jersey are going to bring, whether it’s sponsor activation, whether it’s being in the largest media market in the world, whether it’s being on East Coast time, I believe all of those are factors that FIFA took into consideration,” Kristick said.
Potential field conditions might have also given N.Y./N.J. an edge over Dallas. While both stadiums will have to replace their artificial turf fields with temporary natural grass, growing and maintaining a natural grass pitch in a retractable-roof venue like AT&T Stadium is considered a more significant challenge.
“We’ll be basically asking that [grass] to survive, not thrive,” Michigan State turfgrass research professor John Rogers, who is working with FIFA, told SBJ last year.
Despite missing out on the Final, the World Cup is still set to be a boon for Dallas. FIFA awarded the city nine matches, the most of any location, including four in the knockout rounds (one semifinal, one in the round of 16 match and two in the round of 32). The city is still the most likely choice to host FIFA’s international broadcast center (at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center), which would bring thousands of media members and FIFA officials to the area. Legends, which is co-owned by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, is also one of three companies in the running to be named the tournament’s official hospitality provider.
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