The importance of Kansas City landing World Cup, and the benefits we’ll see win or lose
First of all, let’s start the day by welcoming FIFA. They’re in town this week to hear our pitch about why we should be included in the 2026 World Cup.
Please take notice of our new hotels! And airport terminal construction! And general kindness, food (more than just barbecue) and convenient geography!
Also, and we’re going to be subtle here because we’re classy in America’s Heartland so we’ll just whisper this: PLEASE PICK US PLEASE FOR THE GAMES!
This is Kansas City’s most consequential meeting since Patrick Mahomes asked Eric Bieniemy if the Chiefs had enough time to run Wasp. The stakes are hundreds of millions of dollars and the kind of international stage that Kansas City has never experienced and, whew, that’s a heavy burden.
So maybe let’s cut the tension a little bit?
Because this is true: Kansas City would be a credit to North America’s ability to host the best, most exciting and most accessible World Cup possible. We have the facilities and the infrastructure and the passion and the location to make it happen.
But, just being honest, Kansas City stands to benefit at least indirectly whether games or even base camps are held here.
We’re going to start seeing signs of that soon, beginning with Major League Soccer’s next TV contract. The league’s current deal with Fox, ESPN and Univision expires after next season and is valued around $90 million per year. MLS has grown tremendously since that eight-year deal began, particularly into bigger USA markets, more international credibility and a general increase in legal sports betting.
MLS is expecting a major bump in its next TV arrangement, which could be structured as a shorter deal to line up the following negotiations to take advantage of an expected boost in popularity off the 2026 World Cup.
The consequences of that could be enormous.
“Our league was created out of the World Cup, right?” said Cliff Illig, co-founder of Cerner and principal owner of Sporting Kansas City.
Kansas Citians will not share in any bumps in television revenue, of course, but the numbers would signal a truth we’ve all felt here for years — that Lamar Hunt did well by making Kansas City a charter member of MLS, and that Illig’s ownership group has hit on something real in its continued investment.
Put another way: The 2026 World Cup will be good for soccer in America, and what’s good for soccer in America is good for Kansas City.
Illig and his son, Mike, a club co-owner, have been working to better position MLS for this next TV deal. Those efforts center on making MLS as attractive as possible for people to watch on TV, which has obvious implications for growth and popularity. Mike is particularly focused on eliminating dead time in matches, including teams stalling restarts for rest or strategic reasons.
Some of this growth is inevitable. Every weekend across the metro area, thousands of kids play organized soccer with facilities, coaching and understanding of the game that far outpaces their parents’ generation.
But there are also ways to amplify that, including with branding like Sporting’s No Other Club bar in the Power & Light District, or the MLS’ not-so-secret strategy of building a rivalry with Liga MX.
MLS also continues to expand rapidly — seven teams have come on line in just the last five years. Charlotte will begin playing in 2022, St. Louis in 2023, and MLS will soon announce a 30th team. There’s an expectation that there will be 32 MLS teams in the near future.
All of these developments will help Kansas City in some ways, but there is more we can do locally.
The long-discussed lid over I-670, providing more green space and walkability downtown, would make us more attractive to entities like FIFA.
Depending on the result and pace of the Royals’ exploration of a downtown ballpark, Kauffman Stadium could serve as one heck of a staging area for games and other events at Arrowhead. The University of Kansas will be heavily involved in the bid, too.
There’s a lot to sell here, in other words. Kansas City will have challenges, and much of that is out of our hands. Factors that can’t be changed will affect the outcome, win or lose.
Whatever happens, it’s important to keep in mind that Kansas City stands to benefit from the bidding process, and the World Cup being played in America.
But, yeah, if it’s all the same:
FIFA PLEASE CHOOSE US.