ARLINGTON, Texas — North Texas officials are dispelling reports that Dallas has officially secured the highly-coveted World Cup final match in 2026.
ESPN Deportes reporters Herculez Gomez and John Sutcliffe reported Tuesday that AT&T Stadium would be the venue for the final match.
Local officials and representatives of organizations involved in such a decision say they haven't yet confirmed this information themselves.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson told WFAA that his office's understanding was that "FIFA has not made a final decision" and that they "are not expecting an announcement until at least next year."
“We are proud to have been named a World Cup host city, and we strongly believe Dallas is an ideal location for the World Cup final in 2026 and the International Broadcast Center," Johnson told WFAA in a statement. "The Dallas region — the fourth-largest and fastest-growing in the United States — has the central location, economy, infrastructure, culture, and amenities necessary to support this major global event.”
Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, echoed the mayor's sentiment.
“We believe that Dallas is the perfect host for the 2026 World Cup,” Paul said in a statement provided to WFAA. “FIFA has been an incredible partner every step of the bid process, and we expect a host city announcement in 2023. We’re thrilled that soccer fans across the world are eagerly awaiting word from FIFA.”
Even Stephen Jones -- the chief operating officer and executive vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys, and president of AT&T Stadium -- told WFAA that he had heard nothing confirmed on the matter.
"Don't know," Jones told WFAA's Mike Leslie, "and don't think they will announce for a while. Several areas in the mix."
Officials with the Dallas bid committee told WFAA in July that FIFA would not announce the final, semifinal, opening match venues until 2023 -- after the 2022 World Cup concludes.
WFAA can confirm, however, that FIFA representatives did conduct a site visit to AT&T Stadium in August to gather more information and data (ranging from nearby office space, hospitality amenities and so on) that would ultimately help them make those decisions.
Dallas was named one of the 22 host cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada during FIFA's site announcement in June.
Dallas also hosted the World Cup in 1994 and the Cotton Bowl was the marquee venue used at the time. The Cotton Bowl hosted six games in 1994, including a memorable quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Brazil, remembered as arguably the entire tournament’s top match.
Where the semifinal matches and opening matches will be played are also still unclear.
Cities are also vying to be International Broadcast Center. Dallas served as the IBC for the 1994 World Cup.
Here is a list of all the 2026 World Cup sites:
United States:
- Dallas - AT&T Stadium
- Seattle - Lumen Field
- San Francisco - Levi's Stadium
- Los Angeles - SoFi Stadium
- Kansas City - Arrowhead Stadium
- Atlanta - Mercedes-Benz Stadium
- Houston - NRG Stadium
- Philadelphia - Lincoln Financial Field
- Miami - Hard Rock Stadium
- New York/New Jersey - MetLife Stadium
- Boston - Gillette Stadium
Mexico:
- Guadalajara - Estadio Akron
- Monterrey - Estadio BBVA
- Mexico City - Estadio Azteca
Canada:
- Vancouver - BC Place
- Toronto
RELATED: Dallas will be a host city for the biggest World Cup in history! Here's what you need to know.
For more information about FIFA World Cup 2026, visit our deep dive here.
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