Houston World Cup leaders preparing for massive influx of visitors for 2026 FIFA World Cup matches

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- More than two years ahead of the first match of the 2026 World Cup in Houston, local organizers are already hard at work.

The immediate focus is on security and transportation plans for the largest event Houston has ever hosted. The expanded field of 48 nations in the '26 World Cup means Houston will serve as a host city for the largest sporting event in history.

On Friday, World Cup committee president Chris Canetti said Houston already has a great transportation "template that's been set forth by all the other" large sports events our city has hosted.

That includes the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and the College Football Playoff national championship game. Canetti adds that the World Cup is "on a different scale" with events planned daily in Houston over the entire five weeks of the World Cup schedule.

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Canetti's recent conversation with FIFA officials opened his eyes to the number of visitors that Houston will host. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, 40,000 fans from Peru showed up to a remote Russian host city even though only 14,000 in that group had tickets to the match.

The '26 World Cup schedule includes a record of 104 matches. Janis Burke, CEO of the Harris County Houston Sports Authority, said FIFA is already working with Homeland Security and the White House to set plans in place to get fans from across the world into host cities like Houston.

Canetti puts the economic impact in the summer of '26 in excess of a billion dollars to our region. Bishop James Dixon, chairman of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation, said that hosting seven World Cup matches at NRG Stadium is the equivalent to hosting seven Super Bowls with an "untold" local economic impact. Dixon said the 2017 Super Bowl delivered an economic impact of $347 million to Houston, and he reminds everyone that it was one game over one week.

The 2026 World Cup will bring seven matches to NRG Stadium from June 14 to July 4.

SEE ALSO: Houston will host 7 FIFA World Cup matches in summer 2026

Fans have to wait until late 2025 to know the nations that will play their World Cup matches at NRG Stadium.

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