Cowboys’ Dak Prescott, other athletes help welcome 2026 World Cup to Dallas

On Wednesday, FIFA announced the 16 North American cities that will host games for the 2026 World Cup. There were two Canadian venues, three venues in Mexico, and 11 from the United States. One of those U.S. cities was none other than Dallas, Texas, where matches will take place at the Dallas Cowboys‘ home arena of AT&T Stadium.

All of the other cities hosting in the United States will also have their games at current NFL stadiums. They are MetLife Stadium (New Jersey), SoFi Stadium (Los Angeles), Levi’s Stadium (SF), Mercedes-Benz Stadium (Atlanta), Lumen Field (Seattle), NRG Stadium (Houston), Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia), and Arrowhead Stadium (Kansas City), and Gillette Stadium (Boston).

This actually isn’t the first time the city of Dallas will be hosting the World Cup. In 1994, the city hosted the global tournament at the Cotton Bowl.

To make athletes feel welcome, FIFA put together a video of some of the best athletes in the Dallas area. Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Doncic, Clint Dempsey, and the Cowboys’ own Dak Prescott took turns welcoming athletes to the city. It ends with Prescott sending a soccer ball into the distance during OTAs.

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott helps welcome the 2026 World Cup to the city of Dallas

Not only will this put JerryWorld on the map, but it will also create an influx of jobs and revenue. According to the Cowboys team website, the event is expected to bring in roughly $400 million in revenue and create up to 3,000 new jobs.

This certainly isn’t the first major event, aside from a football game, that AT&T Stadium has held. The over $1.3 billion building hosted Wrestlemania, the Super Bowl, the NBA All-Star Game, the NCAA Final Four, concerts, and several boxing matches.

This all makes business mogul and billionaire Jerry Jones very happy. The Cowboys owner was at  AT&T Discovery District on Thursday with FC Dallas and the Dallas Sports Commission to accept the nomination of becoming a host city. Here is what the GM had to say about this new opportunity for his lucrative stadium:

"“The longer I’m in the sport, the more I realize how important soccer is to this world. When we built this stadium, it was to have great, great events. And it wasn’t just American football. This is such a great opportunity for Dallas. And such a great opportunity for Texas. When you see World Class competition, it raises your level of aspiration. The more I’ve been associated with the Cowboys, the more I’ve seen how meaningful soccer is to sports.”"

In four years, summer football will finally be on display at AT&T Stadium. Well, a different kind of football.