So does Kansas City really have a shot at playing host to World Cup games in 2026?
Now that we’re a little more clear on the stakes and potential payoffs of playing host to World Cup games in 2026, what are Kansas City’s actual chances of being selected?
FIFA officials were impressed with the presentation and effort put forth by Kansas City — and the region — said Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt.
“Let me compliment the job Kathy Nelson and her team had done putting Kansas City’s best foot forward,” Hunt said. “It’s not something I’m just saying. It’s something I heard from FIFA, that they were very, very impressed with not only our bid but when they came in for the inspection.
“Because of all that hard work, we have a very good chance of making the cut. It’s going to be tough ... but because of the job she’s done and the job Sporting Kansas City has done in developing the market from a soccer standpoint, all of those are positives. And we have our fingers crossed.”
Borrowing a few college basketball terms, Kansas City has frequently been mentioned as a bubble city — a team that might be selected, and might not. KC isn’t a slam dunk. As it is with the annual March Madness bracket, a committee will make the final call.
That hasn’t stopped many from speculating.
“The World Cup can’t just belong to coasts,” said one favorable Sporting News review.
“KC has a tight-knit, passionate MLS community. But does it have the international flavor and the grandiosity to host?” reads a Yahoo.com story that ranks Kansas City as tied for 13th, and thus out of the running, among the candidates vying to host.
A recent study conducted by 42floors, a subsidiary of California real estate data firm Yardi, also ranked the cities ... and put a smile on the faces of Kansas City organizers. Using FIFA’s Guide to the Bidding Process, 42floors ranked the would-be host cities in numerous categories, including hotel rooms, public transit usage, fan fests and training facilities.
Their top six: New York/New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, the San Francisco Bay Area ... and Kansas City.
Pushing Kansas City up the charts was its fan-fest capacity, listed at a sum 370,000 for its two proposed locations (that topped the list). We came in last, however, for public transportation.
Soon, all of the guesswork will end. Kansas City and the 16 other cities will know where things stand for the 2026 World Cup. As they no doubt are elsewhere, fingers here are tightly crossed.
“My gut, I would be completely shocked if we weren’t a host city (for training),” said Sporting KC executive Jake Reid. “We check every box. I feel pretty strongly we will be a base camp for at least one country, if not two.”
Reid also thinks it’s a better than 50/50 proposition that Kansas City is chosen as a host site for games.
“It’s difficult to read FIFA and how they’re valuing things,” he said. “What I feel most positive about is I think we’ve done everything humanly possible to put Kansas City in the best position for this.”