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Houston will host seven matches for the 2026 World Cup, but there is still plenty for the city to do ahead of that. Here's how preparations are going.
After hosting matches for the CONMEBOL Copa America tournament in recent weeks, Houston now turns its attention to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Houston hosted three matches for the Copa America tournament, garnering 53,763, 67,059 and 69,456 fans at NRG Stadium, respectively. While the three games — which included a group stage match with the Mexican National Team and quarterfinal match featuring Lionel Messi’s Argentina squad — failed to sell out the 72,220-seat stadium, Houston appeared to be one of the most-attended markets in a tournament plagued with low turnouts.
Copa America, along with the MLS’ Leagues Cup coming later this summer, provides a preview of the 2026 World Cup, which is now less than two years away. With the countdown on, there is still plenty on the city’s to-do list as it prepares to host the world’s preeminent soccer event.
Perhaps one of the most complicated tasks left for the host committee is planning the fan festival. FIFA updated its guidelines earlier this year to allow host cities to have more control over their fan fests, including as it relates to the amount of space needed and days of operation for the events.
Houston currently is targeting East Downtown as its site for the fan fest, said Chris Canetti, Harris County-Houston Sports Authority executive and president of the Houston 2026 World Cup Host Committee. Because of the scale of the event — which encompasses an entire neighborhood and will be open from the first World Cup game on June 11, 2026, to the final one on July 19, 2026 — the planning for the fan fest will take at least another six months to complete, Canetti said. The city is currently in discussions with public and private entities to secure land for the event and has not yet started designing the fan fest.
Ancillary events for recent major sporting events haven’t come close to the scale Houston is planning for the 2026 World Cup. For the 2023 NCAA Final Four and 2024 College Football Playoff National Championship, the city hosted weekend-long fan fests at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Meanwhile, Houston hosted a one-day fan fest at Discovery Green downtown for the Copa America tournament.
“We’re taking on a new idea here by bringing it into a neighborhood,” Canetti told the Houston Business Journal. “This is not as simple as putting it in a convention center or a park.”
The fan fest will serve as a viewing party for all 104 matches during the 2026 World Cup. Canetti said the city expects “thousands of daily visitors” to attend the event, which he described as the “primary and most important ancillary event” Houston will host outside of the seven matches at NRG Park.
“We want this fan fest to be a strong representation of our city and our culture,” Canetti said. “Whether someone is coming from Katy or Friendswood, or whether they’re coming from Germany or Argentina, we want them to walk away with a positive impression and a memorable experience from being in Houston.”
Additionally, the city is in the process of securing team training sites for the tournament, Canetti said. Houston will have two sites — a primary and a backup — for teams to use ahead of their local matches.
Houston also hopes to host two base camps — or training facilities and paired hotels — for teams traveling to North America during the 2026 tournament. The city was notably absent from the initial list of 24 potential base camps, which were announced in June, but FIFA will announce a total of 72 sites in North America in the lead-up to the tournament. Making the list does not guarantee a city will be chosen as a base camp. Teams qualifying for the World Cup will submit their base camp preferences at a later date.
The host committee is also working with NRG Park and FIFA to outfit NRG Stadium for the 2026 World Cup. The stadium will need to undergo two major projects ahead of the tournament: widening of the field and installation of the grass pitch. The former project is expected to take place in summer 2025, while the latter is expected to begin in May 2026.
As Houston prepares to host the 2026 tournament, the city has made about 50% of its fundraising revenue goal, Canetti said. The city has sold nine of its 10 “supporters” sponsorships and is in the process of selling 10 “donor” partnerships, which receive ticketing and hospitality benefits but do not include outward branding like the supporters.
Additionally, the city will relaunch its Art of Soccer campaign in July. The program, which Canetti said is the lowest point of entry for local businesses to get involved with the tournament, began during the bidding process and raised $600,000. All of the proceeds from the relaunch will be used for legacy projects associated with the 2026 World Cup.
Houston will host seven matches for the 2026 World Cup, consisting of five group-stage matches and two knockout-round games. Each of the games will be hosted at NRG Stadium. Houston’s matches run from June 14, 2026, to July 4, 2026.
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