North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee President Monica Paul answers questions after a news conference about the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas in March 2026.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
FRISCO — Two months until the first match at AT&T Stadium, the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee is pleased with ticket sales for the nine matches that will be played in Arlington, the most of any host city.
Almost 60% to 70% of tickets have been sold for the five group-stage matches, Noelle LeVeaux, the chief marketing officer for the organizing committee said during Friday’s all-day World Cup Innovation Summit at The Star.
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Knockout-round matches, including two round of 32 matches and one round of 16 match, have sold about 55% of their tickets even though teams are not yet known. And 31% of tickets have already been sold for the July 14 semifinal, she said.
LeVeaux revealed the ticketing figures during Friday’s summit, which was organized by Bob Heere, a University of North Texas professor of sports management and director of UNT Sports Innovation Space, which hosted the event. The prices of World Cup tickets and the FIFA-controlled ticketing process have been the subject of widespread criticism for months.
“We know that we have a big stadium, but we also know that we have fantastic matches,” said LeVeaux, who was joined on a panel in the Dallas Cowboys’ team auditorium at The Star by Monica Paul, president of the North Texas FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, and Jamie Cabrera, director donor relations for the committee.
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To date, LeVeaux said the top-selling match, in terms of number of tickets sold, is Netherlands-Japan, the first match in Arlington on June 14.
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As for who is buying tickets, about 26% to 35% are being purchased by international customers. Approximately 50% of tickets sold have been to customers in the United States outside of the region. Some 20% to 25% have been purchased by those in D-FW.
The most international travelers are coming from England and Croatia, LeVeaux said.
LeVeaux cited data from Visit Dallas that June hotel bookings in Dallas are up by 46% year over year.
“Our planning is for very big crowds,” LeVeaux said. “Argentina, we know, is coming in significant numbers. The consulate is very clear that they expect upwards of 80,000 people to travel from Argentina. We also know that they have a guy named [Lionel] Messi who this will probably be his last World Cup. So, domestically, they have a lot of fans as well.”
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Heere said, “Let’s make sure that those people that are coming here don’t forget their visit. Let’s make sure they know about North Texas, all the good things.”
Noelle LeVeaux speaks during the official FIFA World Cup Dallas Host City Poster unveiling event at Klyde Warren Park in Dallas on April 17, 2025.
Jason Janik/Special Contributor
‘We were well positioned for final’
The organizing committee had been cautiously optimistic that D-FW would be awarded the World Cup final, and Paul remains “a little upset” over missing out.
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But she has no regrets, and the organizing committee hopes to use the success of this World Cup to best position D-FW to enhance its chances of securing the Women’s World Cup final in 2031.
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“I think we were positioned well for the final” in 2026, Paul said. “You’ve got to look yourself in the mirror at some point and say, ‘Did I leave it all out on the table? Did we do everything we could, from a stadium standpoint, a Cowboys standpoint, the city and region standpoint?’ I think we did. I think we had the stadium, what they’re getting there [with] the experience, and from a financial standpoint, that was covered as well.”
Paul believes they were “still battling the international perception of if you’re going to have New York or Dallas, and that just takes time. We are continuing to get there with our infrastructure and the business aspect and more companies coming here, and our cost of living, and utilizing this World Cup of ’26 to continue to elevate that.
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“That’s why it’s so important for us to utilize this ’26 [opportunity] to increase that global effort there. I think it was the perception of New York being more of the capital of the United States basically, of business in the United States and maybe media as well. And I think … the president of FIFA makes that decision, so I can’t battle that. That is one thing I have real control over.”