Well before the 2026 World Cup began, the members of the North Texas FIFA organizing committee were thinking ahead to the region’s next chance to host a World Cup.

Not the men’s — the women’s.

It’s expected FIFA will award the 2031 event in November or December, ahead of the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil. The United States is the only reported bidder, and North Texas is among 14 regions that are part of the proposal.

North Texas fell short in landing this men’s World Cup final, but the past month has shown the region is more than capable of landing the women’s title match, which the organizing committee highlighted Monday in a news conference before Tuesday’s final match at Dallas (AT&T) Stadium. 

Related: World Cup showed FIFA how ‘we do things bigger and better in Texas,’ Dallas organizer says

Monica Paul, president of the local FIFA organizing committee and executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, said the first goal in putting North Texas’ best foot forward in that bid was to show FIFA how strong this region could be in all aspects of operation — games, the fan festival, transportation, a strong network of volunteers.

Nina Vaca, one of the organizing committee co-chairs, said more than 11,000 people applied to serve as volunteers in this World Cup, with about 6,000 ultimately selected. Many already have expressed interest in volunteering for the 2031 Women’s World Cup. 

It will be important, Paul said, for North Texas to show support for women’s soccer in general and specifically in 2023-founded Dallas Trinity FC, which competes in the USL Super League.

For the women’s World Cup, group-stage games are played in smaller, soccer-specific venues. FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium, which is undergoing a major overhaul, and AT&T Stadium, seemingly give North Texas a significant 1-2 punch in venue options.

When FC Dallas owners Dan and Clark Hunt first explored upgrading Toyota Stadium, the cost estimate was $183 million. Added upgrades, however, have pushed the projected cost to $220 million.

“It’ll be somewhere in that range,” Dan Hunt told The Dallas Morning News on Monday. “My brother and I just said, ‘Look, you get one shot to do this right, and we’re going to continue to invest in it, even if we have to take more money out of our pocket to make sure we get the stadium to be the best small soccer-specific stadium.’

“So, yes, Women’s World Cup 2031 is on the docket for sure for us.”