Missouri, Kansas governors, team owners plan ‘major announcement’ in KC

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is about three years away, but the Kansas City Sports Commission says there will be a “major announcement” on Thursday about the event.

How major?

Specifics are unknown, but the list of attendees for the event at GEHA Field at Arrowhead includes Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt, Sporting KC principal owner Cliff Illig, Jackson County Executive Frank White, sports commission president and CEO Kathy Nelson and various Kansas City business leaders.

What won’t be announced is a schedule of games. National teams from across the globe still must qualify for inclusion in the 48-team field, the largest in World Cup history. By the end of the month-long event, 104 matches will have been played.

It’s unlikely that Kansas City or any of the 16 host sites in North America will know, yet, how many games will be played in their respective stadiums. Those details are expected later this year.

Qualification matches will happen into 2025 before the final draw to determine the 12 sets of four-team pools for the tournament.

A branding initiative is scheduled for Thursday. FIFA announced last week that the “official FIFA World Cup 2026 brand” will be launched from Los Angeles on Wednesday evening, and the artwork will be presented each of the 16 host cities the next day.

World Cup games are scheduled to begin in June 2026 with the final slated for July 19. The event will be played in three nations for the first time, with games in the following cities:

  • United States: Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Boston and New York.

  • Mexico: Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.

  • Canada: Vancouver and Toronto.

Originally Appeared Here

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