Even though kickoff for the 2026 FIFA World Cup is weeks away, Arlington soccer fans don’t have to wait to start immersing themselves in the artistry of “the beautiful game.”
Now on view, the Arlington Museum of Art’s large-scale “More Than a Match” show features four exhibits of World Cup memorabilia, players’ jerseys, scarves, maps and contemporary art, all reflecting the history of the global phenomenon.
Several of the items on display are on loan from the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, the University of Texas at Arlington’s Special Collections and the National Football Museum in Manchester, England.
Arlington museum President Chris Hightower said “More Than a Match” offers a unique opportunity for local and international visitors to engage with creative aspects of the World Cup. The show is on view within a mile of where the nine matches will be played at AT&T Stadium, which will be temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium during the games.
“For people to see something else while they’re here is going to be amazing and I think these four (exhibitions) wrap all the great things about the World Cup,” he said.
The FIFA World Cup is expected to bring millions of visitors to North Texas and generate roughly $1.5 billion for the region.
If you go:
What: “More Than a Match”
When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays; 1-5 p.m. Sundays through Aug. 2; closed Mondays
Where: Arlington Museum of Art, 1200 Ballpark Way
Admission: $18-$25
The first exhibit in “More Than a Match” features a projected timeline that pinpoints the history of soccer from the 1863 formation of the English Football Association to the creation of the World Cup in 1930.
The next room of the exhibition is lined with large banners that break down key facts from every FIFA World Cup tournament. In between some of the banners are glass displays filled with historic jerseys, including one worn by Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé, in a friendly match before he retired from the Brazilian national team in 1971.
The next exhibit, “Art of the Game,” features a gallery of paintings, photographs, sculptures and installations from nearly 20 global artists that spotlights their artistic interpretations of soccer. Featured artists include Andy Warhol, Kehinde Wiley and Darío Escobar.
Dallas-based artist Colton Canava painted a floor-to-ceiling mural that depicts Argentine player Lionel Messi, English player Jude Bellingham and Dutch player Virgil van Dijk as three saint-like figures floating in the air.
A soccer ball is painted over Messi’s head to resemble a halo and bring attention to how many soccer fans idolize players and worship them like religious symbols, Canava said.
As guests walk out of the “Art of the Game” room, they step into a museum hallway and into the “Atlas of Champions” display. The exhibit features historical maps from the 16 host nations and teams playing in the World Cup matches in Arlington, including Japan, Netherlands and Sweden.
“Atlas of Champions” is curated by Evan Spencer, outreach and instruction archivist at UT Arlington’s Special Collections.
The final exhibit in the show “Fabrics of Fanatics,” is a community installation project that features international soccer scarves from residents in the Arlington-area. The exhibit spotlights how the garment has become a symbol of community and pride on match days.
The exhibition is on view through Aug. 2.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
The Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Arlington Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
