We’ll know shortly whether Kansas City will be one of the several host cities in the United States for the 2026 World Cup, but the excitement is already building within Chiefs Kingdom.
Kansas City was named one of the 17 finalist host sites a little under a month ago. FIFA is set to make an announcement on Thursday, June 16 at 5:00 p.m. ET.
Following the conclusion of mandatory minicamp practice on Thursday, Chiefs HC Andy Reid spoke about how great it would be to see the World Cup in Kansas City.
“Yeah, that’d be great,” Reid said. “I like soccer, believe it or not. I know that I’m not built like a soccer player, but I wasn’t built like a quarterback coach either, right? But I enjoy the sport. I have a ton of respect for those guys and the amount of work that goes into it. I know how fond the Hunt family is of soccer and how much it means to them. Then, the city of Kansas City, they love soccer too. We would definitely have a great turnout there.”
Reid isn’t the only soccer fan for the Chiefs, though. The team actually has a pair of MLS franchise owners among them, Clark Hunt with FC Dallas and Patrick Mahomes with Sporting KC.
Mahomes says that he will certainly be among the people turning out to see the World Cup should it come to Kansas City. He expects to see a big turnout from the fans in the area too.
“Dude, it would be awesome (to have the World Cup in Kansas City),” Mahomes said. “I was talking to Brittany (Mahomes) yesterday — I’m going to be at like every one of those games I possibly can be at if they do get them here. I know Kansas City and I know how much they love soccer. I mean, you see it with Sporting KC and how they sell out almost every game. And then, with The Current know in Sporting stadium, they’re bringing in these huge crowds. So you know that Kansas City loves that sport and I think if we get that bid, we’ll be selling out Arrowhead, Sporting, the Current’s stadium whenever it gets built up. I’ll be at every single one of them.”
