How the World Cup in KC compared to Chiefs games for two Arrowhead staffers
It takes a village to raise a child, and there’s no greater village than the one assembled at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Thousands of workers and volunteers descended upon the stadium for each of the six matches to help the approximately 69,000 fans in attendance. Some of them traveled from all over the United States to be here, but many more have long called Arrowhead their home.
Stadium operations staff associated with the Chiefs during the NFL season are also tasked with assisting during other events hosted at the stadium, such as concerts, private ceremonies or the holiday pop-up bars.
What’s similar? What’s different? Does FIFA change how the stadium works?
Here’s what we learned after the sixth and final game hosted in Kansas City.
What goes up, must come down
Some of the Arrowhead-turned-FIFA staff don’t even get to see the game. Their responsibilities lie in getting everyone where they need to get so they can see the game.
Stationed inside the elevators are guides helping direct the guests to the level where their seats are located, or getting the members of the teams and media covering the event to their respective spaces.
It’s a job Denise Scott, born and raised in Kansas City, loves, mostly because of the different people she gets to meet every day.
“We love when people come here,” Scott said. “The Midwest is known for hospitality, and we love making a good time with this. We love greeting people and talking to people and welcoming people.”
It’s six games for her during the summer compared to the 8-9 hosted throughout the Chiefs season, and any additional playoff games if the team makes it that far. Her title was changed to “fan operations” by FIFA, but what she does for the Chiefs and what she did for the World Cup is all the same.
Her role sees her switching around from the different elevators to relieve others, allowing them to take breaks during their shifts. It’s a job she’s had for the last three years, and will be entering her fourth when the Chiefs’ preseason begins in August.
She’ll miss all the different cultures she was exposed to while the matches took place. What she won’t miss is the long hours, the parking lot and the lines.
“I love seeing the people,” Scott said. “I love working here. I really do.”
Stocked
The busiest sections inside and around Arrowhead for the matches were the merchandise stands.
Thousands flocked to the Chiefs Pro Shop and other setups to get their hands on jerseys for each team and the match day exclusives: T-shirts, scarves and the ever-elusive pin.
Megan McMurray, who’s helped inside the pro shop for the past four seasons for the Chiefs, said she’s never seen it as consistently packed as it was for the six matches. During Chiefs games, there are peaks before kickoff and during halftime, but with the World Cup, there were people rolling in looking for items at every minute during the game.
At one point, the store got so crowded that they had to turn the TVs off inside to keep people from staying in the area to watch the matches.
She said that during the match featuring Tunisia and Netherlands, the line to check out snaked back and forth six times throughout the store. The demand is too much, which she said is the biggest difference between working Chiefs games and FIFA matches.
“We have sold out of a lot of stuff as far as like flipping the whole store throughout the game,” McMurray said. “Whereas with the Chiefs, we have a lot of back stock and inventory to put back out.”
Those exclusive pins mentioned earlier? Sold out right as the gates open. The scarves featuring the match of the day? Gone as soon as they hit the shelves.
The Squishmallow featuring Clutch, one of the 2026 World Cup’s mascots? A favorite among visitors to commemorate their time.
McMurray said it’s been fun to everyone, from fans to employees and volunteers, get taken over by the World Cup craze.
It’s something she’ll miss as the matches come to an end in Kansas City.
“Everyone here is just here for a good time,” McMurray said.
This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 8:43 AM.
