Kansas City will host six FIFA World Cup matches in the summer of 2026. Whether you’re a local or among the hundreds of thousands of people expected to travel in, KCUR put together a guide to the games, how to get tickets and what's happening in town.
Leading up to the 2026 World Cup, KCUR's podcast A People's History of Kansas City is exploring how we became a soccer city. This project is in collaboration with the Great Game Lab at Arizona State University, which explores how sport connects us to the rest of the world, and the Us@250 Initiative at New America.
If you know about a local champion of soccer in Kansas City who helped bring the city to this extraordinary moment, email us at peopleshistorykc@kcur.org
A People's History of Kansas City: How we became a soccer city
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Events are planned throughout the tournament, featuring watch parties, live music, and cultural programs. Partnerships include the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and American Jazz Museum. -
St. Louis will give soccer fans the chance Friday to get an up-close look at the FIFA World Cup trophy, ahead of the tournament's kickoff in June. The trophy tour visits Kansas City's Power & Light District over the weekend. -
World Cup travelers and residents of the region can register to attend free performances from national touring artists and some of the city’s best local entertainers. -
Council unanimously passed an ordinance Thursday that requires food trucks to operate no less than 300 feet from the nearest restaurant, a sixfold increase. Violations would be punishable by fines of up to $500 or jail time — and food truck operators say the restrictions could force them out of business. -
Many World Cup ticket holders felt deceived this month when FIFA assigned precise seat numbers to their already-purchased tickets. At the same time, FIFA hiked ticket prices for nearly every game — including an 87% increase for Kansas City's Argentina vs. Algeria match. -
For World Cup ticket holders, Kansas City will run $15 shuttles to the stadium on game days. That’s significantly cheaper than the $100 buses and trains in East Coast host cities. A new bus route between downtown and the airport will remain free.
