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North Texas FWC Organizing Committee President Monica Paul (at microphone) responds to a funny question from question the media as co-chairs Nina Vaca (right) and Dan Hunt (second from left) laugh during a press conference to open the Dallas Host City Media Center in Dallas, June 10, 2026.<\/p>\n
Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Dan Hunt<\/a> has spent the last 107 months preparing North Texas for this World Cup<\/a>, but the moment that keeps replaying in his mind isn\u2019t a kickoff or an opening ceremony.<\/p>\n It\u2019s his 8\u2011year\u2011old daughter asking when she finally gets to see the thing her father has worked on for her entire life.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s eight,\u201d Hunt said, smiling as if the number still surprises him. \u201cHer only memories are me working on the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The emotional statement from the co\u2011chair of the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee was an undercurrent running through Wednesday\u2019s press conference at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center<\/a>, where organizers were asked about the emotions of finally watching the 2026 World Cup begin.<\/p>\n The tournament, played across the United States, Mexico and Canada, kicked off Thursday with Mexico facing South Africa<\/a> in Mexico City.<\/p>\n Related: El Tri fans in Dallas erupt as Mexico wins World Cup opener<\/a><\/p>\n The first match at Dallas Stadium<\/a> (AT&T Stadium) is Sunday, when Japan meets the Netherlands<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Culminating effort<\/p>\n That game will be the culmination of an enormous, yearslong effort \u2014 one that Nina Vaca described as an \u201carmy\u201d of people and businesses pushing together to make the World Cup a reality.<\/p>\n North Texas FWC Organizing Committee Co-Chair Nina Vaca delivers remarks during a press conference to open the Dallas Host City Media Center in Dallas, June 10, 2026.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n \u201cThe apparatus that it takes to put on a World Cup is just incredible,\u201d said Vaca, also a co\u2011chair of the committee. \u201cWe are ready \u2014 more than nervous and more than excited \u2014 \u00a0I\u2019m proud. I am proud to showcase this region, showcase this city, to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n For Monica Paul, president of the committee, the emotions were visible. Her eyes filled with tears when she was asked what her state of anticipation would be on Sunday as she walks into the stadium for the Japan\u2013Netherlands match.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve been working on something for so long\u2026\u201d she began, before stopping to fight back tears.<\/p>\n Once she composed herself, she continued: \u201cI care about this city and this region.\u201d<\/p>\n Sunday afternoon, she said, will be a moment she has imagined since Dallas was announced as a host city in 2022<\/a> \u2014 a moment that became even more real when the match schedule revealed that Dallas would host nine games, more than any other city<\/a>.<\/p>\n Related: What to know about Dallas’ World Cup teams<\/a><\/p>\n Paul said she has been living in a state of anticipation for months \u2014 the kind that jolts you awake in the middle of the night with a new item for the to\u2011do list.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n She admitted she isn\u2019t sure she\u2019ll get any sleep Saturday night. The anticipation is simply too much.<\/p>\n Full-circle moment<\/p>\n For Hunt, who attended his first World Cup in 1986, Sunday\u2019s match at Dallas Stadium will complete a full circle.\u00a0<\/p>\n He remembered his father, Lamar Hunt, and his role in keeping professional soccer alive in Dallas<\/a> and leading the 1994 World Cup effort here.<\/p>\n \u201cWalking into Dallas Stadium with my daughters will be a very emotional moment for me,\u201d said Hunt, who estimates he has seen more than 130 World Cup matches in his life. \u201cTo be able to take them to games and see how excited they are is really an exciting moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hunt\u2019s imprint on this World Cup goes beyond his role as an organizer<\/a>. As president of FC Dallas<\/a>, he carries a personal sense of pride knowing that the U.S. national team<\/a> will feature four players developed by the MLS club his family founded more than 30 years ago.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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