Dallas is one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with 80 matches scheduled to be played across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. But Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is laser-focused on one match: The Final.

The World Cup is expected to produce more than $400 million in economic impact on Dallas-Fort Worth while creating more than 3,000 temporary jobs here, according to the Dallas Sports Commission. But hosting The Final itself would surely magnify that impact—and focus the attention of billions worldwide on the stadium known as Jerry’s World.

On Sunday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino watched the Dallas Cowboys crush the New York Jets 30-10 from inside the owners suite at AT&T Stadium. Texas Governor Greg Abbott was there too—and it seems that Jones and Abbott spent a good part of the game pitching the stadium as the ultimate 2026 World Cup venue.

Jones confirmed that Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan, saying it was “mind boggling” to host Infantino and be “sitting there with the people that have the controls in their hand relative to the game itself.”

[Image: FIFA]

“When I think about what soccer is around the world, then it’s awesome,” Jones told The Fan. “The governor of the state of Texas was there, and he was basically helping me emphasize just how important the big game—the last game—would be to get to have it at the stadium, what we could do with that. Why Texas—why this area—is where that World Cup Final would flourish the best.”

“The governor was very helpful,” Jones added, “My goodness, just to think that we get to possibly talk about having the single greatest game that you can have in a sport that billions and billions of people follow around the world.”

AT&T Stadium has a secret weapon: two other stadiums right next door

In 2022, FC Dallas President Dan Hunt, the Chairman of Dallas’ host city bid for the 2026 World Cup, told Business Facilities that AT&T stadium has secret weapons that make it extra attractive for the global event.

“One of the biggest nuances of our bid is with AT&T stadium,” Hunt told Business Facilities. “You have Choctaw Stadium and Globe Life Field next to it. There’s really no situation anywhere in the entire world that has three major stadiums right next to each other. We could do something that is so incredibly creative. And you also have Texas Live out there and the new hotels being built. Part of our pitch to FIFA is we literally can throw the biggest party in the world for the World Cup.”

You can hear the full Jerry Jones interview here.

CUP CRAZY: Dallas will be one of 16 host cities in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for the 2026 World Cup. [Photo: fifg/Shutterstock]

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