Lyda Hill Philanthropies’ IF/THEN Initiative will debut a new collection of “sheroes” this summer during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at Fair Park in Dallas. #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit: Game Changers is a monumental display of 26 life-size, 3-D printed statues celebrating leaders highlighting how science, technology, engineering, and math fuel the world of sports.

In partnership with the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee, the interactive exhibit will be on public display from Thursday, June 11, through Sunday, July 19, at the Fan Festival at Dallas’ Fair Park, located at 3809 Grand Avenue. Coinciding with the full World Cup tournament, fans can enjoy free live match screenings, food, music, and entertainment.

Entry to the Fan Festival and the exhibit is free.

Soccer great Julie Foudy and former Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall talking about the exhibit. [Photo: Alexander Simoes/courtesy IfThenSheCan]

“The World Cup is one of the most watched sporting events on the planet, making it a powerful moment to showcase the STEM behind the sports we love,” Nicole Small, CEO of Lyda Hill Philanthropies, LH Capital, Inc. and Co-Founder of IF/THEN, said in a statement. “This exhibit highlights the innovators transforming sports and helps the next generation see how science and technology open doors on and off the field.”

Women and STEM innovation in sports

The latest Game Changers exhibit includes sports professionals like soccer’s Julie Foudy and golf’s Lucy Li, along with former Mav’s CEO Cynt Marshall, Olympic sports psychologist Dr. Colleen M. Hacker, and others whose work ranges from elite athletic performance and sports medicine to data analytics, stadium engineering, biomechanics, and fan technology. The installation spotlights the STEM careers that fuel today’s global sports industry.  

Each statue includes a QR code that visitors can scan to view videos and images that bring these women’s journeys to life. Through these stories and videos in the IF/THEN Collection, audiences can explore how technology enhances performance, how biomedical science prepares athletes for the field, how data influences sports strategy on and off the field, and how engineering and innovation can elevate the game for both athletes and fans, IF/THEN said.

The lime green statues, which will be 3D-printed in Dallas, are made of a UV-cured acrylic gel. Each statue is a life-sized depiction of a Game Changer with tools of her trade, from soccer balls and drawing boards to ski helmets and microscopes.  

“It’s an honor to display these incredible statues of influential women who have achieved remarkable accomplishments in sports during FIFA Fan Festival Dallas,” said Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee. “Dallas and the North Texas region will be on full display during the FIFA World Cup 2026, and FIFA Fan Festival Dallas will be a perfect place for guests to enjoy the matches while also observing and learning about the great achievements of these inspirational women in sports.”

IF/THEN Exhibit at NorthPark in 2021. [IF/THEN Initiative]

‘If they can see it, then they can be it!’

#IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit: Game Changers marks the second IF/THEN® statue exhibit, following the historic debut at North Park Center in Dallas of #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit, which featured 120 statues of contemporary women in STEM. That first exhibit of life-size orange 3D-printed statues made history as the largest assembly of statues of real women ever displayed at one time. The project was inspired by a study that found the ten largest U.S. cities displayed fewer than a half-dozen statues of real women in publicly accessible places.

Statues at NorthPark Center in 2021 [Image: courtesy IfThenSheCan]

In addition to NorthPark, the exhibit has been shown at the Central Park Zoo, Cambridge, Massachusetts’ Kendall Square, Love Field Airport, and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. The display has reached more than five million visitors since 2021. 

The IF/THEN Initiative was launched in 2019 to showcase STEM innovators that inspire the next generation of pioneers by elevating women in STEM as role models. With the same goal of visibility and inspiration, #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit: Game Changers expands the initiative’s reach into sports, “one of the world’s most influential cultural platforms, during the largest sporting event on the planet,” the organization said.

NorthPark Center in 2021 [Photo: James Edward/IfThenSheCan]

“When we invest in STEM talent, we invest in solutions for our future,” said Lyda Hill, founder of Lyda Hill Philanthropies. “We hope these statues spark inspiration, conversation, and lasting impact on the next generation long after the final match. If they can see it, then they can be it!”

The exhibit is free and open to the public throughout the World Cup Fan Festival. More information, including the complete list of Game Changers, will be published at ifthenshecan.org. The full IF/THEN Collection may be viewed at ifthencollection.org.

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