A Kansas City stadium announcer is the voice of World Cup matches in Monterrey, Mexico

Most Kansas Citians may not recognize John Dale's face, but they might know his voice.

For more than a decade, Dale has been behind the microphone at Kansas City Mavericks games and Sporting Kansas City matches, plus high school championships and college contests.

As a public address announcer, Dale is the person whom fans hear inside the venue. He introduces players, announces goals and substitutions, shares game information and helps shape the atmosphere of a sporting event.

Now, his career is taking him to one of sports' biggest stages: serving as an English-language public address announcer for 2026 FIFA World Cup matches in Monterrey, Mexico.

Dale traces his announcing career back to 2009, when he was coaching soccer at Blue Valley High School. During the state tournament that year, he took notice of the announcer butchering a couple of the players' names.

After more than a year of asking, Dale convinced his athletic director to let him announce a single basketball game. From there, he said yes to nearly every opportunity that came his way. He's announced for volleyball, wrestling, track and field, and swimming and diving — sports he did not know much about at the time.

"I've been able to learn all about these different sports, and it's kind of rounded me out in terms of my experience and ability to adapt," Dale said. "Any aspiring PA announcers out there, I recommend starting at the high school level and just saying yes to every opportunity.

Long before he became the voice of Sporting KC, Dale played soccer himself. Then, as a University of Kansas student in 1995, working at the radio station KGHK, he submitted a demo tape for the newly formed Kansas City Wizards. He didn't hear back, but the opportunity came back around more than two decades later.

An email chain helped open the door for Dale to announce for Sporting KC II, and eventually got called up to do a game for the primary team. The morning after, Dale says, he was asked if he had any schedule conflicts — Sporting KC wanted him to take the role for the rest of their scheduled games.

For Dale, the role represents a unique intersection of lifelong passions.

"This combines all of the different talents and experiences that I've been able to coalesce over my five decades on the planet," he said. "It's fit me like a glove."

Dale announces matches for both the U.S. men's and women's national team matches, helping him land on FIFA's radar. He went to Austin, Texas, for the U.S. team's friendly against Ecuador, showing that he was open to traveling, and submitted audition materials.

When the offer finally came, Dale assumed he would be working the six matches in Kansas City. Instead, FIFA assigned him to Monterrey.

"I think the following day, I got an email saying, Monterey, Mexico, for three and a half weeks. 'What is this? This is nuts, but it's awesome.' I feel so incredibly blessed and humbled to be able to serve in this role," Dale said.

Whether he's announcing a World Cup match or a high school wrestling tournament, though, Dale views the job the same way.

"I've never driven to an announcing gig thinking, 'I've got to go to work,'" Dale said. "I'm just happy to be behind a microphone doing what I love to do."

• John Dale, stadium announcer, FIFA World Cup