Host City: Kansas City

Soccer in Kansas City has deep roots, dating back to the 1950s when immigrant communities brought the sport into local neighborhoods. This led to the development of their first professional teams, such as the Kansas City Spurs. However, it was the arrival of Major League Soccer’s Kansas City Wizards (now known as Sporting Kansas City) in 1996 that truly ignited the modern era of soccer in the region. The team’s success, including an MLS Cup win in 2000, helped solidify Kansas City as a soccer icon.

Today, Kansas City is widely recognized as one of the greatest soccer cities in the United States. Sporting Kansas City’s state-of-the-art Children’s Mercy Park has become a model for soccer-specific stadiums, and the city is home to the U.S. Soccer National Training Center. Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium will host four group matches, one Round of 32 and one quarter-final match from 16 June to 11 July 2026. Certified by Guinness as the world’s loudest outdoor stadium (142.2 dBA in 2013), Arrowhead has five consecutive NFL Conference Championships to its name. The city is also known as America’s “Soccer Capital,” home to Sporting KC and the NWSL’s KC Current—whose new women’s-specific stadium debuted in 2024.