Chris Canetti, the President of the FIFA World Cup Houston Host Committee, speaks to the media during a preview of the passenger experience at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, Tuesday, June 9, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle
Chris Canetti sat in an NRG Stadium suite on July 6, 2025, watching the Gold Cup final between the U.S. and Mexico, and his mind couldn’t help but wander to the then-forthcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“No doubt you sit here and you’re imagining something like this a year from now,” Canetti told the Chronicle from the suite that day.
Now, exactly one year later, Canetti sat in the Founder’s Pavillion at FIFA Fan Fest wearing a host committee polo and a DR Congo trucker hat. The knockout stage between Spain and Portugal played on the large screens outside as fans gathered to watch the match.
Article continues below this ad
He had been at that same stadium earlier Monday with elected officials, host committee staffers and others to take some photos and have one last look at the grass pitch installed for the World Cup.
HOUSTON’S VOICE: Glenn Davis on calling World Cup matches
Canetti started in his role, first as bid committee president, more than seven years ago. The grass plan, a key component to bringing the World Cup to Houston, has been in the works for nearly as long. Houston won its host city bid more than four years ago. FIFA announced the World Cup schedule more than two years ago.
Now Houston’s seven World Cup matches have come and gone.
Article continues below this ad
“It’s very strange to think back a year ago, to think back two months ago, to think back a week ago,” Canetti said Monday. “It’s going to be hard to believe that it’s over soon.”
Canetti talked with the Chronicle on Monday — the one year anniversary of the Gold Cup final — about the seven matches in Houston, how operations have gone in Houston and what to expect over these last two weeks of action.
Thousands of fans take part in the iconic Oranje fan walk for Dutch supporters before the team’s match against Sweden in the FIFA World Cup in Houston, Saturday, June 20, 2026.
Jason Fochtman/Staff photographer
Successful fanwalks
One of the defining characteristics of the Houston World Cup experience has been the fanwalks.
Article continues below this ad
“I heard from someone the other day that some cities had no fanwalks,” Canetti said.
The Netherlands’ Oranje Fanwalk ahead of its June 20 match is one of the moments of the World Cup in Houston as more than 25,000 people attended the match from Rice University to the stadium.
But the Netherlands match, along with a Sweden march that day that also drew about 5,000, seemingly sparked other fanwalks in the city.
Both Portugal and Uzbekistan had fanwalks for the next match. A Houston pedicab driver became a star during Brazil’s fanwalk before its match against Japan. Canada even got in on the action with a march of its own on the Fourth of July.
Canetti said public safety officials stepped up with the marches to make sure they could happen, even when they were at the last minute.
Article continues below this ad
“We, from day one way back months before this, always felt like the fanwalks were an important part of the match day experience,” Canetti said. “We were glad when the different countries and federations wanted to put those together.”
Cape Verde forward Nuno da Costa (21), forward Willy Semedo (17) and defender Stopira (2) celebrate the teams 1-1 draw against Saudi Arabia during World Cup Group H match at Houston Stadium on Friday, June 26, 2026. The teams tied 1-1.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
The Cape Verde story comes to Houston
Houston had a team ranked in the top 10 in the world play in four of its five group stage matches.
Its fifth match featured Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia, two teams ranked in the 60s.
Article continues below this ad
“Everybody looked at the match schedule, and you go, ‘there’s the weak one,’” Canetti said. “Even ticket sales, maybe three, four weeks out, you look and you go, “Oh boy. Are were going to be okay here?’”
But then Cape Verde burst onto the world scene with a historic draw with Spain, the European champions. Then came another draw with Uruguay.
Suddenly, the match that was once the cheapest ticket of the entire tournament became part of the World Cup’s best story.
Cape Verde would automatically qualify for the knockout stage with a win, while a tie would put them in the mix depending on the results of Spain vs. Uruguay.
“I don’t think anything’s going to top the Brazil-Japan game if we’re trying to rank the best games in Houston,” Canetti said. “But that’s got to be second best for me.”
Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia — which could have advanced with a win itself — fought to a draw.
With the tie, the Blue Sharks would automatically advance if Spain beat Uruguay in the other Group H match. But the game hadn’t finished yet when the ref blew the whistle in Houston.
So Cape Verde huddled up on the field looking at someone’s phone, waiting for confirmation destiny had looked kindly upon them.
When Cape Verde’s knockout stage spot was officially secured as Spain beat Uruguay, jubilation filled the stadium.
“That was definitely a highlight moment for Houston,” Canetti said.
Houston FIFA fans attend a watch party, mostly supporting Mexico as they take on England during World Cup action at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston on Sunday, July 5, 2026.
Elizabeth Conley/Houston Chronicle
1 million visitors expected to EaDo
Mexico’s matches have driven the highest-visitor days of the tournament as tens of thousands descend on EaDo to watch El Tri.
Canetti only had daily visitor numbers for the neighborhood through June 29 but three of the top four days were the days of the three Mexico group stages matches. The only other day to break into the top four was June 27, which was the Saturday when there was the Portugal-Colombia and Argentina-Jordan doubleheader.
Some businesses have expressed displeasure with Fan Fest and headaches it has caused them. But Canetti claimed everyone in the neighborhood is benefiting from their presence.
“All bars, restaurants, bakeries around the Fan Festival have experienced growth in visits compared to this time last year and the year before,” Canetti said. “The year-over-year increases for those restaurants range from anywhere from 20% to 1,410%.”
June 18 had the most people in EaDo with about 64,000 visitors to the neighborhood. Canetti said June 30 is expected to top that when official numbers come in.
He added it is expected that 1 million people in total will visit Fan Fest, the Houston Dynamo’s Soccer Celebration and Football Fiesta — Football Fiesta, the host committee’s partnership with local businesses to get them involved in the soccer action — by the end of the tournament.
“There’s a lot of reasons why we put the Fan Fest over here,” Canetti said. “Some were logistical. Some were legacy driven. From a legacy-driven perspective, we wanted to help EaDo, and the one way to help EaDo is to bring people over here to show them the neighborhood, to drive business and certainly those numbers support that that’s the case.”
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo (7) celebrates his goal against Uzbekistan in the first half of a Group K soccer match during the FIFA World Cup in Houston, Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle
Bittersweet doesn’t describe the feeling
The World Cup slate in Houston is complete but the festivities aren’t done yet.
Houston is one of few Fan Fests to be running every gameday of the tournament. The activities will continue in EaDo through the World Cup final on July 19.
But things are slowing down. Fan Fest will have its first planned off day since opening Wednesday. The operating hours will also be less as there’s only one or two games per day for the rest of the tournament.
Canetti, after dedicating seven years of his professional life to the project, isn’t ready for it all to end.
“I know that a lot of people would say to me, ‘This must be bittersweet,’” Canetti said. “I’d say, ‘It’s not sweet at all. It’s bitter.’ The sweetness would be if it could just keep going forever and ever.”