Cowboys' AT&T Stadium to Host 2026 World Cup Final?
Even if the Dallas Cowboys' streak of postseason futility continues, AT&T Stadium appears guaranteed to host some brand of championship football in the next three years.
British tabloid The Sun has reported that the Cowboys' pad will host the championship finale to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the capper to a North American soccer showcase that will work through the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
The report from The Sun's Martin Lipton states that "JerryWorld" beat out New Jersey's MetLife Stadium (the home of the New York Giants and Jets) for the championship honors. Arlington is also said to have beat out Miami and New York to serve as the "main base" for the festivities, which are to set to begin in June 2026.
USA TODAY SPORTS
If AT&T Stadium indeed gets the call and the retractable roof is closed, the 2026 final will be the first played indoors. The 2026 men's tournament will also be the first held on North American soil since 1994 (when the finale, won by Brazil, was held at the Rose Bowl) as well as the first to feature an expanded field of 48 teams.
Having opened in 2009, AT&T Stadium has hosted numerous soccer matches in the past, including its first sporting event when 85,000 fans took in a CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal doubleheader headlined by Mexico's 4-0 defeat of Haiti. The stadium is also set to hold Copa America matches later this summer, including one featuring the United States' men's national team when they battle Bolivia on June 23.
FIFA COO Heimo Schirgi lauded AT&T Stadium as a venue when officials visited the stadium in October, saying there was "nothing not to like" in a report from Abraham Nudelstejer of The Dallas Morning News. Schirgi did express lingering concerns about the playing surface, but Cowboys management had hopes for natural grass pitches.
“For the first time ever, we will have a system to grow the grass during the time period of the event, and that is very different from how we did it when had other events,” Cowboys executive vice president of business operations Chad Estis said in Nudelstejer's report. “We have a whole team working alongside FIFA. We are confident that we will have a very good field for the event.”
AT&T Stadium is one of several NFL venues set to host World Cup matches, joining MetLife Stadium, Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), Gillette Stadium (New England), Hard Rock Stadium (Miami), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), Levi's Stadium (San Francisco), Lumen Field (Seattle), Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), NRG Stadium (Houston), and SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles).
