The Odd One Out for the 2026 World Cup: Jerry World

It’s the site of some of the biggest sporting events in the United States, especially in the fall season. It’s the home of the Cotton Bowl, Big 12 Title Game, and the Dallas Cowboys. In 2026 Dallas, along with 10 other cities in the US, will be tasked with hosting the global event of the world’s most popular sport. With cities like Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston the World Cup will be touching every corner of the country.

Also important to remember that this is a united set of 3 nations hosting, which includes Canada and Mexico. So why am I singling out Dallas in this article? It’s not that I believe its site will be a disaster, but it will be a spotlight on the oddities of that venue for the whole world to see.

The Accessibility of AT&T Stadium

It wouldn’t be surprising for the United States to play a lot of their matches in Dallas. The massive state of Texas has two cities in the world’s game in 2026 (Houston). It wouldn’t be a stretch to have the US play their matches in the group stage in one of the most defining venues within the union. For the other nations that may play in Dallas though, getting to the playing venue could be a very frustrating experience.

The idea of private transportation being the only way to get from point A to point B is no new phenomenon for an American. But what about a visitor from a nation that has public transport available to them in almost every city? With the expanded format of the ‘26 World Cup, there will be 48 teams competing, bringing large concentrations of people to North America. In a study done by the National Academic Press Switzerland uses transit half as much as automobiles. For perspective on the US, 45 trips are used by cars for every 1 trip used by transit.

So what does this have to do with AT&T Stadium? It is completely inaccessible by public transit and has been since 2013. The only way to reach it without a personal vehicle is to use a rideshare program. Not that it would be impossible for a visitor to navigate a rideshare program, or rent a car in a city, but it probably will be a headache.

Cities like New York probably won’t be a problem for many folks traveling to the World Cup, which has some of the best transit in the United States. While that is the complete opposite of the spectrum when being compared against Dallas, it’s important to note.

Fans of nations visiting the United States won’t have much say in what city their squad plays in. It’s too late now, but if more sites had easier access to transit before FIFA made its decision it would have been easier for fans to experience not only the action of the matches but all of what the host cities have to offer. Although maybe endless highways and being next to a McDonald’s and Walmart is as American an experience as it gets.

The Mighty Power of the Sun

Anyone familiar with AT&T Stadium probably knows about the sometimes-blinding glare of the Texas sun that the venue faces.

 

(Photo Cred: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

It was especially bad during last year’s NFL postseason matchup between the Cowboys and 49ers. Besides match scheduling, there’s not much the World Cup can do to counteract this glare. There’s very little interest from Jerry Jones to have curtains curb the light during in-game action. Trust me I’m no world-class athlete, but I will not envy the keepers playing in Dallas. If I had to defend the net on the east side and had a long shot coming my way, I’d hope there’s a possibility to take a mulligan.

This glare is almost certainly going to cost a team a match, it’s cost NFL teams plays and possessions. With the fact that AT&T Stadium will probably have to alter its playing field (WFAA Dallas), this site will be the most interesting to pull off. FIFA has already made its bed though, there’s probably no going back to other sites like Nashville or Edmonton if some underlying problems rear their ugly head.

Even so, with the event being relatively far out, there’s time to figure issues out and mediate upcoming hiccups. While this article may sound panicky, the proverbial other shoe hasn’t dropped. There might not even be another shoe to drop, but it will certainly be interesting to see the pains it will take to pull off Dallas as a host site. Hopefully, the planners and laborers on the ground have paid overtime in their contract to work this event, because they might need it.