06-03-2025
Dallas named host site for International Broadcast Center for 2026 FIFA World Cup
The FIFA 2026 World Cup will be played in Texas and the Lone Star State will host its international broadcast.
According to FIFA, the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas will host the International Broadcast Center for all FIFA World Cup 2026 matches.
The announcement was made Wednesday at Dallas City Hall. This is the second time Dallas has hosted the IBC. Dallas last hosted the IBC in Fair Park during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Here is what you need to know about the IBC and the 2026 World Cup.
As per Inside FIFA, the IBC will serve as the global broadcast operations hub for all 104 tournament matches across 16 North American cities, including those in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
Between January 2026 and August 2026, the IBC will function as the epicenter for TV, radio, and new media activities, accommodating around 2,000 broadcast media personnel.
There are two Texas cities that are hosting FIFA World Cup games for next year. Here is the list of the cities hosting:
Arlington, Texas (AT&T Stadium)
Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
Boston (Gillette Stadium)
Guadalajara, Mexico (Estadio Akron)
Houston (NRG Stadium)
Kansas City, Missouri (Arrowhead Stadium)
Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
Mexico City (Estadio Azteca)
Miami (Hard Rock Stadium)
Monterrey (Estadio BBVA)
New York (MetLife Stadium)
Philadelphia (Lincoln Financial Field)
San Francisco (Levi's Stadium)
Seattle (Lumen Field)
Toronto, Canada (BMO Field)
Vancouver, Canada (BC Place)
When the U.S. was chosen to host the 1994 World Cup, it was deemed an unpopular decision, especially by European critics. On July 4, 1988, the FIFA Executive Committee held a vote to have the U.S. host the World Cup. Though considered an outsider and an ignorant participant — the U.S. beat out finalists Brazil and Morocco by 10 votes.
According to writers Kelsey Ontko, Julia Fogleman and Lucas Nevola, 'several journalists compared the awarding of the FIFA World Cup to the United States to holding a major skiing competition in an African country.'
The world also changed in 1994. It was the end of The Cold War, which meant that Russia and Germany would compete as the countries we know them as today — not the Soviet Union or West Germany, which won the World Cup in 1990.
The 1994 World Cup was successful. More than 3.6 million people attended the games. $210 million dollars were made in ticket sales alone, and nine stadiums were packed for each match.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: IBC to broadcast from Dallas during the 2026 FIFA World Cup
