Everything You Need to Know about the World Cup in Kansas City

The 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup is right around the corner and there is so much to know about the biggest event in the world coming to Kansas City. The magnitude of the event is hard to put into words, but at the very least we can educate you on all the details you need to successfully navigate the event.

Kansas City is the smallest city to be awarded hosting rights, even beating out the nation’s capital, Washington D.C., an uncommon trend in the 96-year history of this competition. Despite KC’s lack of size, it makes up for that in its love of soccer. Kansas City consistently ranks among, if not the top, city in TV viewership of important soccer (football) matches.

The Games

Kansas City will host six games. Four in the group stage, along with a round of 32 and quarterfinal match. If everything goes perfectly, that quarterfinal could be Argentina versus Portugal. Messi versus Ronaldo. It may be the biggest possible game in the world.

2026 FIFA World Cup host cities and number of games | Credit: FIFA

The Venue

While the “Soccer Capital of America” has multiple soccer specific stadiums around the city, the games will be held in an American Football stadium that’s been upgraded for the World Cup.

The Kansas City Chiefs current home, Arrowhead Stadium, will host all six matches. During the World Cup tournament, it’ll be referred to as Kansas City Stadium. You won’t see GEHA Field though, as FIFA has forced cities to scrub off all their branding.

For an American Football game, the capacity of Kansas City Stadium is listed at 76,416, but FIFA lists the modified capacity at 73,000. They also repeatedly call the city “Kansas” instead of Kansas City, so the accuracy could be off.

Tickets

As of this writing, FIFA still has tickets on sale. There is also an official resale market through FIFA and the ability to buy through many of the typical ticket vendors like Ticketmaster and Seat Geek.

The prices are still astronomical. However, with dynamic pricing, it’s always possible prices come down closer to the games if tickets remain unsold. Even if you can’t go to a game, there will be plenty of other World Cup activities around the city, including watch parties (below).

I Waited Five Hours to Not Buy FIFA World Cup Tickets

Base Camps

Not only is Kansas City the “Soccer Capital” but it’s also the “Base Camp Capital.” The city and surrounding area are hosts to four different nations! Not only that, but KC has the most prestigious list of teams with the defending World Cup champions Argentina coming, along with fellow Top Seven FIFA ranked clubs in England and the Netherlands. Algeria rounds out the group.

With these four nations calling KC their “home away from home,” that means fans from those nations will likely choose to setup shop in Kansas City’s hotels and Airbnb’s for a chance to catch a glimpse of their favorite players. Not to mention, three of the four teams play a game in KC.

One other draw for fans to also base their travels out of Kansas City is the ability to watch a training session. Each of the four nations will have at least one FREE public training session (details still to come).

Base Camp Capital

Not only did KC get four teams, but they have three of the top seven ranked teams in the Men’s FIFA rankings.

• #3 – Argentina
• #4 – England
• #7 – Netherlands
• #28 – Algeria

Argentina – Compass Minerals National Performance Center

The defending champs find themselves at MLS club Sporting Kansas City’s training center. Compass Minerals National Performance Center is one of the best training facilities in the world. It’s why Lionel Messi and Argentina chose it over Inter Miami’s facilities. That, and the central location of KC is going to greatly reduce travel for Argentina and their fellow KC based teams.

The state-of-the-art complex has everything a team could need. They have the world’s first “SuperPitch.” It’s three, side-by-side-by-side full-size soccer fields. They also have two more turf fields. Beyond that the facility has all the performance amenities: Neuropsychology office, hyperbaric chambers, cryotherapy lab, recovery room, massage suite, Accupower force plate, environmental/atmospheric chamber and a physician’s clinic. There is also nearly 13,000 square feet of gym space and numerous other spaces for film sessions and a full cafeteria.

Netherlands – University of Kansas Health System Training Center

The “orange” will be on the other side of the state line at the defending NWSL Supporters Shield winning Kansas City Current’s recently expanded training facility. The team recently added a second building and the 2,000 seat, Riverside Stadium with its heated pitch. Their investment is now up to $52 million at the Riverside site and 35,000 square feet of facilities.

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England – Swope Soccer Village

With Argentina and the Netherlands grabbing the two premier facilities in town, England refused to give up on Kansas City as a base camp, despite Argentina and the Netherlands getting priority since they actually play games in KC. England went rogue and negotiated with Sporting KC for their former training facility, and the current home for SKC II, Swope Soccer Village.

Despite the first team moving to the National Performance Center, the Swope facilities have over $20 million invested in it, including a 2,000-seat stadium of its own.

Ironically, Sporting KC had planned to use Swope to train during the World Cup, but they gave up the facility in a bit of a long play by SKC President Jake Reid. The more teams based out of Kansas City, the more of a chance that they or a teammate will one day play for Sporting KC.

Algeria – University of Kansas

The fourth nation based near Kansas City is Algeria. They will be in Lawrence, KS using Rock Chalk Park and other KU facilities. The complex features a 2,500-seat soccer specific stadium, along with a locker room, players’ lounge, coaches’ offices, athletic training room, an equipment room and more.

Transportation

Take the Bus!

Kansas City has invested heavily in the World Cup from facilities to security to transportation. A huge part of that is the leasing of 240 buses to move visitors and locals around KC. Citizens of other countries are often reliant on public transit, something that many Midwesterners aren’t used to using.

Parking at the games will be limited, so riding a bus may be the best option for many. The great news is, unlike many other cities that are charging massive fees, KC is very reasonable.

Credit: Connect KC 26

The bus service from the Kansas City International Airport runs every 15 minutes and is free to downtown. On game day, roundtrip service to the stadium is just $15. For all the other travel needs, there are unlimited passes from Downtown KC to 14 different locations for $5/day, $25/week or $50/tournament.

You’ll want to sign up to use the service.

Alternative Transportation

The KC Streetcar is always free and connects the KC Riverfront, Downtown, Crown Center and Country Club Plaza. There is the RideKC Bus that serves much of the city. On the Kansas side of the border, Johnson County United Drop and Ride is a free bus to and from KCI to the Lenexa City Center and Overland Park Convention Center.

And of course there are taxis, ride shares, car rentals and bike and scooter sharing services.

Parking

The massive parking lot at Arrowhead will be greatly reduced due to other activations going on around the stadium on game day. Limited parking passes will be available, with the cheapest coming in at $125. Most of them are already accounted for at the time of this writing.

Tailgating

Tailgating at Arrowhead will be allowed, after earlier rumors that it was banned.

Watch Parties

Even if you can’t afford tickets, there will be plenty of ways to experience the World Cup. From watching the Dutch’s famous march to the stadium, to watch parties around Kansas City, both official and unofficial.

Official KC FIFA Fan Fest

Credit: KC 2026

The biggest of the fan events is the official FIFA event run by KC 2026 and will be on the lawn at the WWI Museum and Memorial. There are 18 dates and tickets are FREE (get them here). A reserved ticket doesn’t guarantee access though, as it’s a first-come, first service basis on who gets in unless you pay for one of the Premium options.

However, 25,000 people will be allowed in the venue with watch parties and other festivities. KC 2026 expects a total of 650,000 visitors*, with folks travelling through KC over the duration of the tournament, but spread across 18 days, there should be ample opportunity to get into the Fan Fest. If not, there are numerous other options around the city.

In addition to simply watching the matches and taking in all the traveling fans, the FIFA Fan Festival will have a robust entertainment lineup. The first and last day will be highlighted by local KC rapper, Tech N9ne with big acts like the Chainsmokers, Flo Rida and the All-American Rejects sprinkled throughout the dates.

Be sure to check out the Fan Fest FAQ for more information and the full Fan Fest Schedule.

Soccer Capital Summer at Sporting Park

Across town at Sporting Park, Sporting Kansas City will be hosting the Soccer Capital Summer. 8,000 fans will get in for free with another 2,000 premium spots available. It’s also on a first-come, first-serve basis, but a ticket is required (reserve them here). There is a cost to park, though.

The team also installed a new 47-foot video screen for watching the games in the plaza outside the stadium.

Update 5/7/2026: Sporting KC announced their concert series to go along with their watch parties including acts like Third Eye Blind and Gym Glass Heroes.

Current Landing

The KC Current will host unofficial watch parties of every major international match with more details still to come.

Other Watch Parties

There are many watch parties yet to be announced, and the KC Soccer Journal will continually update this space. Power and Light haven’t officially announced anything as of this writing but have always hosted huge parties.

• Go North KC watch parties all over the Northland
• Leawood, KS watch parties and other World Cup events
• Futbol Friday in Lee’s Summit at Green Street Market
• Johnson County Theatre in the Park
• Pitch Lenexa
• 18th and Vine’s Official watch parties
• Border Brewing Company on 18th St in KC
• Kickin’ it in Cameron (51 miles north of KC)
• Drexel Hall
• Croatia watch parties in Strawberry Hill

If you have a watch party or know of one, leave it in the comments and we’ll get it added.

Is that Really Everything?

Not exactly. The KC Soccer Journal is going to bring you and anyone visiting Kansas City, way more information around the World Cup as it approaches. This story will be updated throughout the tournament, and we’ll provide links to other events and restaurants around the city that are must-visit locations.

In the meantime, our local NPR affiliate, KCUR is doing an excellent job of covering the World Cup too.