She’s been working for over a decade to bring the World Cup to DFW. In June 2026, all that work will come to fruition.

DALLAS — The first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North Texas will be played on Sunday, June 14, 2026. 

We don’t yet know who will be playing, as the qualifying process is still underway. Some teams have already clinched qualification (we have a running list here), but the groups, and in turn where they’ll be scheduled to play, won’t be finalized until December.

Whoever kicks off from Jerry World on that Sunday in the summer of 2026, it’ll mark the culmination of nearly a decade of work from people behind the scenes.

People like Monica Paul, the president of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee, and her team of countless individuals working in 18-20 different work groups addressing safety and security, transportation, sustainability, human rights, legacy, ticketing and more.

WFAA sat down with Paul for an exclusive one-on-one interview to get some insight into what it took to bring the biggest sporting event in the world to North Texas. 

Watch the full interview here: 

In true Texas fashion, working on a World Cup bid wasn’t Paul’s first rodeo. Nor the second. This 2026 World Cup bid was actually her third.

Paul said she received the bid documents for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups back in June 2009. Ultimately, FIFA awarded the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 to Russia and Qatar, respectively. 

The bid process for the 2026 World Cup dates back to July 2017.

“We had a little trial run there, weren’t successful, but this bid process is over eight years old now that we’ve been working on the road to 2026,” Paul said.

Here’s a look back at our reporting in 2018:

Paul said some of the major differences and lessons learned from the failed attempts when starting the 2026 bid process were, first, the joint bid of the U.S., Mexico and Canada versus simply fighting for your own country to get the bid, and then having an established network and contacts of who to work with.

“You’re so busy collecting the very short amount of information that was asked for the bid process that you kind of maybe sometimes forget to put the full picture together, your full bid together, so that you’re prepared for ‘hey, when your country is selected,’ now really be out there to represent your city,” Paul said. “And I think we did a fantastic job of bringing those people together earlier, all the stakeholders, in 2017 and 2018.”

The most nerve-racking part of the entire process, according to Paul, came nearly one year after the bid process started. 

June 16, 2022, was the most nervous Paul had been throughout the process. 

Will Dallas be one of the host cities? As one of the best sports business cities in America, this part seemed almost certain. But there is no certainty until you hear your name called. They’d learn this lesson the hard way a little further down the road.

“That day of not knowing whether you were gonna see your city’s name up there, like you said, sometimes once in a generation opportunity, knowing how excited people were from 1994 and still talk about it,” Paul said. “To possibly have your city’s name not be on that list was almost unimaginable for me.”

The excitement in 2022 was no different than 20 years ago. Fans gathered in Downtown Dallas to watch the announcement, donning red, white and blue.

Paul’s next “key marker” came in February 2024, when the match schedule was announced.

In the year-and-a-half between, Paul and the rest of the team worked to make DFW the most attractive option for the tournament’s marquee features: the coveted World Cup Final, the Opening Match, the International Broadcast Center (IBC) and more.

For years, AT&T Stadium was reported to be the prospective World Cup Final. It almost seemed like Jerry World was a lock. Until it wasn’t. 

The shocking reveal brought “some disappointment,” Paul admitted.

“Nine matches – more than any other host city – was humbling,” Paul said. “At the same time, will I say there might have been some disappointment that we didn’t host the finals? Absolutely. But I think what you learn from that is this entire bid committee is always going to shoot for the top.”

The match count and securing the IBC still brought a sense of pride.

Earlier this year, we interviewed Dan Hunt, a co-chair of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee and FC Dallas President, during which he talked about how proud his father, Lamar Hunt, was of getting the IBC for the 1994 World Cup, which was based in Fair Park.

Dan Hunt said he didn’t understand the significance at the time, and now, as he follows in his father’s footsteps, the “epicenter” of the World Cup will once again be in DFW.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup IBC will be housed in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Downtown Dallas. All told, the Dallas Sports Commission estimates the area will see $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion in direct economic impact. 

The 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted by the United States and Mexico.

The joint bid between the United States, Mexico and Concacaf partners was the sole bid for 2031. So, while the official appointment won’t happen until the FIFA Congress in Q1 of 2026, it’ll be the third time the U.S. has hosted the Women’s World Cup (1999, 2003).

The 1999 U.S. Women’s Team won the World Cup on their home soil, sparking a generation of what Hunt called “arguably the biggest sports dynasty on the planet”: the U.S. Women’s National Team, which has won four Women’s World Cups to date (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019). They’ve been the No. 1-ranked team by FIFA in 53 of the last 60 world rankings, dating back to March 2008. In four of those 60, they were ranked No. 2. They’ve never been ranked lower than No. 5.

Though the men’s World Cup is right around the corner, Paul’s role in the process links their 2026 and 2031 bids together.

“I think instead of maybe only one year away from a World Cup, I’m trying to look at it: ‘how can we ensure that this men’s World Cup in ’26, we’re also starting to build towards ’31?'” Paul said. “And we’re not looking at them separately, necessarily. We’re looking at them together already.”

The most pertinent aspect of preparations for Paul and her team at this point is recruiting volunteers and fundraising.

“There’s city services, fan festival, entertainment type of planning that’s taking shape, International Broadcast Center planning, but you know, at the end of the day, we also have to be able to pay the bills in hosting a World Cup,” Paul said. “The host city supporter program, our donor program, the ability for people to purchase tickets to all nine matches at AT&T Stadium is really kind of front and center right now. As we go into this fall time period, we will be announcing a ‘Road to the World Cup,’ other ancillary events that host city supporters and donors will have access to and can really be a part of our future and the legacy that this World Cup can bring. And then springboard off into 2031. So it’s really turning mostly into fundraising.”

The final draw for the FIFA World Cup is set to take place in December, with teams assigned to specific match schedule fixtures, including venues and kick-off times, shortly thereafter.

Paul told WFAA they have a list of teams they’re eyeing to bring in for the numerous base camps and training sites across the Metroplex.

“We have the list of the ones that have, you know, great history in World Cups and those that have won before, have some of the top stars or up-and-coming stars or, you know, from my perspective, I want the ones that are also gonna have great spectator travel,” Paul said. “I think there’s some unique opportunities too, since this is the largest World Cup to date, with the expansion from 32 teams to 48 teams. There are already certain teams that have never been to a World Cup before. I think that’s a pretty special moment in itself. So, I’m trying to look at it holistically.”

Where teams are slotted in groups and what potential matchups that can happen at DFW’s knockout stage games will play a role in their planning, too, Paul said.

Working as a volunteer, according to Paul, entails working nine shifts throughout the 39 days. Volunteers will get a full FIFA uniform (Adidas hats, jackets, and polos), as well as a few gifts along the way as appreciation for working the event. Some roles are directly with FIFA, while others could be with the organizing committee. Volunteer jobs range from working at the stadium, at a fan festival, in the volunteer center, in the city center, at the airport, etc.

Another aspect the DFW market boasts that no other city can is the history of the game in this country on full display. South of FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium lies the National Soccer Hall of Fame, with all the relics and memorabilia representing soccer in the United States dating back decades. 

“I think it would be a huge miss if we aren’t actively promoting people to get up to Frisco and see the National Soccer Hall of Fame,” Paul said. “What they have there, the history of soccer here within this country, both on the men’s side and women’s side. There is some memorabilia there from the 1994 World Cup that was hosted here. I think from a broadcaster standpoint, from a media standpoint, [or] just your overall general spectator, I think it would be a real miss. And you could definitely spend half a day over there looking at everything that they have.”

Paul said Toyota Stadium will most likely be a base camp, and she anticipates that a strong, higher-profile team will be located there.

The FIFA Fan Festival will be held at Fair Park for 39 days, free and open to the public.

Every World Cup match will be broadcast at the Fan Festival, and there will be a food and soul concert series, too, Paul said. There will be some VIP elements that’ll be premium. Paul said the goal is to give the festival a Dallas feel.

Home to the State Fair of Texas, Paul said they’ve taken some teachings from those folks on planning and executing this event, which will be a little under double the length — the State Fair of Texas is 24 days.

“We’ll have our volunteer center out at Fair Park as well, and that’s operational from November of 2025 all the way through July of 2026,” Paul said.

Even still, the foot traffic won’t be as dense as we’re used to seeing during the State Fair of Texas, according to Paul.

“Every host city, in a certain capacity, should have a FIFA fan festival,” Paul said. “We’re gonna go kind of with a traditional FIFA fan festival model, looking right now between 35,000 and 40,000 people at one time. So, it’s not the full State Fair of Texas.” 

For context, the State Fair of Texas averaged 99,410 attendees in 2024, peaking out at 212,003 on Red River Rivalry day — Oct. 12, 2024. 

It’s a much smaller footprint, but Paul said the festival is free because the reality is many fans won’t be able to get a ticket to attend the match itself. Paul said she hopes people come to Dallas and they stick out as one of the best places to visit.

We all know what it means to be Texan and what Texas is all about. 

But how will the rest of the world see DFW? The marketing arm of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee was tasked with working alongside FIFA’s marketing team to best portray the vibe of DFW. 

Part of this process came through two pieces of art: the “Sonic ID” and the city poster. Both have been released this year. Paul’s team worked with Grammy-winning Dallas artist Tre Nagella and artist Matt Cliff.

“It was important for us to show some unity from a regional standpoint, knowing that each of the cities is a little bit different and maybe have a different focus or a different flair, and knowing that we’re gonna be welcoming the world and a lot of international visitors here wanting to try to set ourselves apart there,” Paul said.

Paul said, when talking about the logo, FIFA did an extensive study with all host cities on what some of the adjectives and things that we were known for here: a lot of non-stop spirit, energy, revenue and entrepreneurial, maverick, “can do” spirit, which is where a lot of the green came into play.

FIFA is 100% responsible for how the IBC is set up. Fox and Telemundo are the media rights broadcast holders in the U.S. for the 2026 World Cup, and each of the foreign nations will have its own. BBC will broadcast to the U.K., M6 to France, and so on and so forth. A list of the media rights holders can be found here. 

All of these networks will likely have broadcast booths set up inside the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. Paul said FIFA will start moving in and setting up on Jan. 14, 2026.

Many will also set up broadcast compounds in other key areas of the Metroplex. 

The IBC will start operating 24/7 toward the end of May 2026, Paul said. 

“You’ll see that operation for those broadcasters, you know, we’re looking at time zones for people from all across the world, and that feed will come directly out of the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center here in Dallas all the way to their respective countries,” Paul said.

Paul said most of the broadcasters aren’t expected to start arriving in Dallas until the end of May 2026, but some “may trickle in” during April.

The aesthetics of the city and decorations surrounding the World Cup will begin to go up around March and April, according to Paul.

Paul said FIFA is developing an app for ticketholders and visiting fans to use as a “one-stop shop.”

She said all of this information about “can’t miss” places to go and things to do in DFW will come from their office.

“We’re waiting for some additional information on the breadth and scope of what is all in that app, but we’re hopeful that probably many of the ticket holders and spectators are gonna go to many cities, so it makes sense to have everything for each city on one app,” Paul told WFAA. “We wanna know about that integration, but hopefully, the transportation information of how to get out to the stadium or where the different DART light rail stops or the timing of the FIFA Fan Festivals, other ancillary events or watch parties, restaurant information, cultural activity or festivals that may be planned for off days … but we’re still waiting for a little bit more information from FIFA.”

Tickets are already available online through luxury hospitality packages. General ticket sales for FIFA World Cup matches will be released in phases due to high demand. Fans need to register their interest at FIFA.com/tickets and create a FIFA ID.

The way Paul explains it, the process is “like a lottery system.”

“When it’s your time, you’ll be notified. It may not be for a specific match,” Paul said. “You may not get tickets for your specific match that was your first choice, but then you have that opportunity to do the pick-and-choose if you’re interested in the tickets that are provided there for you.”

The first ticket draw for the 2026 World Cup will open on Wednesday, Sept. 10, FIFA recently announced. There will be several distinct ticket sales phases from the start of sales (Sept. 10) through to the final match on Sunday, July 19, 2026. Each phase may differ in purchasing processes, payment methods and ticket products, and full details on each phase will be released in the coming months, according to FIFA.

Paul had the opportunity to attend the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar. She says it’s hard to explain the energy surrounding it. 

“I’ve been to a lot of major events, but there is something really special about a World Cup. And to be able to share that and some people’s first time of being able to see a World Cup, I think it’s pretty special,” Paul concluded. “Legacy is always gonna be a key piece of what we’re trying to build here. Yes, we have legitimate expenses to, you know, cover: safety, security, transportation, a lot of other things … but really building out the legacy, being able to hit certain, you know, underserved areas with providing equipment to those areas, opportunity for education for coaches, and really how do we utilize this men’s World Cup of 2026 to really elevate the the women’s game and those opportunities across the board.”

Over a decade of work to bring (hopefully) a resounding impact to the next generation of the community in the future.