Sports Tourism a Major Focus for 2026 FIFA World Cup Host Cities

There will be matches and they will be massive, drawing tens of thousands to stadiums and millions upon millions watching around the world. For the cities and regions that are hosting 2026 FIFA World Cup games in the United States, that is only part of what the impact should be for the month-plus tournament.

“Those who will have tickets will have the experience of the match,” said Dan Corso, Atlanta Host Committee president. “For those who don’t have a ticket, that’s where the cities and host committees ask how do we show off a bit and create experiences for these visitors who may not have been to our city or have not been there in quite a while.”

That’s where the host committees, working with tourism bureaus and sports commissions, will look to leverage the event further. While fans will want to come for a game, the question then becomes: How can we keep them here longer and help our businesses?

“We have eight matches in downtown Atlanta, but all of Georgia is going to be hosting it,” Corso said. “We can drive tourism to the different markets, but we also see this as an economic development play. We’re going to have companies from all over the world coming in to follow their nation and watch their nations play in our city, and here’s a chance for us to talk to about why Georgia is the number one state to do business for 11 years running.”

‘Foreign Trade Mission at Home’

That philosophy carries throughout each U.S. host city.

“We’re the gateway to the Americas, the Caribbean,” said Alina Hudak, Miami Host Committee president and CEO. “It’s not just that we’re the gateway to the Americas, it’s who we are in terms of our residents. We have a huge European base as well and we are extremely international when we come to art. We think this is an opportunity to showcase who we are internationally.”

Kansas City is in the position of being the only host city that’s in the middle of the United States, leaving a potentially large opportunity to be leveraged.

“It is important for us to think about all the people who live in the region,” said Pam Kramer, Kansas City’s Host Committee CEO. “We feel like we’re representing the middle of the country. It’s remarkable the joy that’s coming with those fans, so creating a relationship between the people of our communities and those fans is important.”

International activations will also be key. Kansas City opened a new airport in 2023 that has been positively reviewed by travelers.

“This is a foreign trade mission at home,” Kramer said. “This is a chance to raise our brand profile.”

‘A Massive Opportunity’

Of the 104 matches in next summer’s World Cup, 27 will be in the East Region. With the proximity and ease of transport between Toronto, Boston, Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey, that leaves those host committees planning for more than activations and economic opportunities within their destinations. They are also promoting the chance to see multiple matches in a tight geographic footprint.

“It’s just a massive opportunity for us,” said Alex Lasry, New York/New Jersey Host Committee CEO. “The fact that they can go to three host cities so seamlessly is a huge opportunity for us to bring even more people into our region, to bring even more people to experience all that we have to offer.”

New York/New Jersey will host eight matches including the final. Lasry envisions fans being able to take time between games to visit not only New Jersey and where the “Sopranos” was filmed, but New York City and even Niagara Falls or Buffalo further afield.

“There’s going to be 30 days where matches aren’t going on and that is an opportunity for other cities to recruit and advertise and to bring people to come visit,” Lasry said. “And that’s something that we talk to cities, mayors, tourism bureaus from all across the region about is what can we do to make sure that we’re putting city guides on our websites. We want to make sure that we’re promoting bars, restaurants, historic sites, et cetera, all across the state.”

The proximity for Boston, Philadelphia and New York/New Jersey in particular is even semi-relatable to one of the biggest pieces of praise for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar — the ability to get to multiple matches easily. While there may not be multiple matches in a day like in Qatar, from a traveler’s perspective you could see a group stage match in Philadelphia on June 25, head to Boston on June 26, then go to New York/New Jersey on June 27.

“There’s really only one area without getting on an airplane that that is possible and that’s the Northeast corridor,” said Philadelphia Host City Executive Meg Kane. “Fans want to collect the experiences. They want the three posters, they want the three scarves — whatever it is. So we’re really trying to be expansive in that thinking.”

Host regions are banking on the impact of the games lasting beyond the result.

“I had the pleasure of hearing about one retirement home that was just redoing their community center,” said Mike Loynd, CEO of the Boston Host Committee that will host seven matches including a quarterfinal. “The idea was that the residents of that retirement home would just have a special moment for themselves at the World Cup. We can’t provide tickets for everyone and that’s not really our role in this, but we can provide special moments and viewing opportunities for residents that is really something special to remember.”