Patrick Mahomes got to break the news to the world that Kansas City will indeed be one of 16 host cities in North America for the 2026 World Cup bid shared between Canada, Mexico and the United States.
It was only fitting that Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes got to share the news that his adopted hometown of Kansas City will be one of 16 host cities during the 2026 World Cup.
Even if Kansas City is one of the smallest metroplexes among the three host countries that got a bid (Canada, Mexico, the United States), it would have been most shameful if the midwestern metropolis did not get one. Clearly, FIFA went for cities with great stadium infrastructure, as well as a rich soccer tradition. Kansas City absolutely checked both of those major boxes going away.
Here is Mahomes’ message revealing that KC got the bid as one of six host cities in the Central Region.
Patrick Mahomes shares to the world Kansas City will be a 2026 World Cup host
Kansas City is one of 11 American cities that got a bid: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York (New Jersey), Philadelphia, San Francisco (Bay Area) and Seattle. All 11 cities have NFL stadiums capable of hosting World Cup matches, as well as strong soccer history on the MLS side of things. Thankfully, Kansas City was included in this grouping.
Even if Sporting KC plays over in KCK, Arrowhead Stadium will be rocking. The Power and Light District will be going bananas throughout the entire event. But what is so important here is that the legacy of Lamar Hunt lives on triumphantly with Kansas City, as well as his hometown of Dallas, getting bids. The U.S. Open Cup bears the late Chiefs owner’s name. Of course Kansas City was getting in!
Ultimately, this is an absolutely tremendous opportunity for Kansas City. It is the lone city in the midwestern footprint that got a World Cup bid. Other metroplexes like Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus and the Twin Cities could have been in the mix, but they are all missing out. While Kansas City will never host a Super Bowl, this is about as big as it gets for the city, alongside the 2023 NFL Draft.
Mahomes was not the only athlete to announce a city’s bid, but his message for Kansas City spoke volumes.