Two North Texas base camps will be used by European teams during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the North Texas organizing committee announced Tuesday.
Toyota Stadium and Mansfield Stadium will each house a team that qualifies in the European playoffs, Dallas Sports Commission Director Monica Paul said at a news conference.
The announcement comes 100 days before the first match of the World Cup kicks off.
Poland, which could qualify in the UEFA playoffs, already picked Toyota Stadium for its base camp, Polish sports news website Meczyki reported last week.
Poland’s qualification isn’t guaranteed by any measure.
The national team would need to win against Albania’s national team, then beat the winner between Ukraine and Sweden.
Frisco Mayor Jeff Cheney said the city is already looking at ways to promote the fact that FC Dallas’ home pitch will host a European team for training during the tournament.
“It’s been a bit difficult since we don’t know who is going to be here yet, but we’re ready for it,” Cheney said.
He said Frisco will be partnering with FC Dallas to host watch parties for every single World Cup match in front of city hall.
The second team would qualify through Playoff Path D that include the matches Denmark vs. North Macedonia and Czechia vs. Republic of Ireland.
Mansfield Mayor Michael Evans said his city is excited to play a role in the World Cup.
“We know that the city of Mansfield is going to be the kind of place where people will have the opportunity to call it home for a little while and they’re going to see some of our southern hospitality,” Evans said.
He said Mansfield is “gearing up and ready to go” and that its selection as a base camp demonstrates his city is capable of playing a role in “world class events.” Improvements to infrastructure, especially streets, are already underway there, Evans said.
He said after the news conference that Mansfield is the type of town that feels like home and where people want to hang out, and he’s excited for people from around the world to see that.
The city will also have concerts and parties during the World Cup.
“We look forward to painting the town,” Evans said. “Whatever country we’re hosting, we’ll paint the town that color.”
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