Kansas City to Host Six World Cup Matches After Chicago Withdraws Over FIFA Contract Terms

Kansas City organizers mapped delegation routes, stationed volunteers at the airport and arranged a scrimmage with roughly two dozen children from the Guadalupe Centers outside the downtown Loews Kansas City Hotel at 11 a.m. when a FIFA evaluation team arrived. The city is the smallest of the 16 World Cup hosts, with a metro population of 2.2 million across two states.

It is staging six matches at Arrowhead Stadium, including a quarterfinal featuring Lionel Messi. Kansas City received the assignment after Chicago dropped its bid. Then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel cited FIFA requirements that included tax waivers, full security costs and contracts the organization could amend without city indemnity.

Tim Cowden, president and CEO of the Kansas City Area Development Council, said he was appreciative of Chicago for stepping aside. The bid process began in earnest around 2015 and 2016. Kathy Nelson, then leading the Kansas City Sports Commission, spent years presenting the case at the state capitol.

Nelson estimates half a million visitors will pass through the city over the tournament’s two months. The region spent $700 million on soccer infrastructure in the 15 years before the host title was awarded. Children’s Mercy Park opened in 2011.

The Kansas City Current’s CPKC Stadium opened in 2024 as the first purpose-built professional women’s soccer stadium in the world. When the Netherlands selected Kansas City as a base camp, the Current added a second facility and 2,000-seat stadium next door at a cost of $52 million. England requested training at Swope Soccer Village, a site not listed in FIFA’s catalog.

Mark Jorgensen, KC2026 board president, said the England delegation told local officials the facilities were excellent and that the city felt like home. Kansas City has already hosted four national-team base camps, including those of defending champion Argentina and England.