North Texas’ bid to host the 2026 World Cup wasn’t just built on world-class venues; it was driven by two of the most influential names in American sports: Dan Hunt and Charlotte Jones. Hunt, co-owner of FC Dallas and the Kansas City Chiefs, and Jones, co-owner and chief brand officer of the Dallas Cowboys, helped lead the charge to bring the world’s biggest sporting event to the region. “We were touted as the best place to do sports in the nation, and we know we are,” Jones said, speaking from the Cowboys’ headquarters at The Star in Frisco. “It’s because we have a great community. We have a great corporate community, we have a great civic community, we have a can-do community, and any event has a home here.” Hunt echoed that pride. “So many communities are chipping in, but we have all these amazing people that we get to work with, and I think that’s that can-do spirit that we have in Texas,” he said. Hunt and Jones represent sports legacies that helped shape the future of football and soccer in the U.S. “Lamar Hunt is pretty much the founding father of sports in our country,” Jones said. “Between, obviously, our game in the NFL, then also soccer and what it has meant to this country, without him, I don’t think we would be seeing this World Cup game. Dan has certainly taken the bull by the horns and led this game, this whole series of games to our destination, right to our backyard.” “I wish he was alive to see this because he fought so hard for soccer. Soccer was such a challenge,” Hunt said of his father. Lamar Hunt was the principal founder of the American Football League, Major League Soccer and the North American Soccer League. “What’s so fun about this is my Dad was such a visionary. Jerry is such a visionary,” he added, referring to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. Jerry Jones, Charlotte’s father, backed the World Cup bid, which will be anchored at ATT Stadium in Arlington. “You don’t build things like this Cowboys organization, and the facilities they have. Right here at The Star and how magnificent it is, but that stadium is, too,” Hunt said. “I mean that’s again one of the greatest economic drivers to sports stadiums in the world, and we get to host nine matches there.” He noted that the Jones and Hunt families have known each other for decades. “They have a friendship dating all the way back to when Jerry met my dad when he was 25 years old,” Hunt said. “We can all roll bowling balls and throw rocks at each other’s houses (in Dallas), but no, we’re friends, we’re neighbors, we’re business partners.” Jones reflected on how much Frisco has changed over the years. “I remember us coming here in 1989, and just about a year later, I think there were 2,500 people in Frisco. The tollway wasn’t even thinking about extending this far. Now we drive up here and are like, ‘wow, this is our home. Look, we work here. We play here. We build here.'” “It is because everybody’s vision is aligned to do things that make the most impact for the most people. That’s what you see around you,” she said. Hunt spoke about how that shared vision and deep history helped strengthen the region’s World Cup pitch. “It’s what makes the NFL family so special. These family trees are so intertwined, right in the history. When my father was inducted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972, he accepted on behalf of the football fans of America, and that’s something that he understood and something that Jerry understands so well. He’s a Pro Football Hall of Famer too and is making the game great for the fans,” Hunt said. Both Hunt and Jones credited Dallas Sports Commission Executive Director Monica Paul and city leaders across the region for their coordination and long-term planning. “People are visionary here. And when they are, and your vision aligns, then you can’t stop success,” Jones said. The first World Cup game at ATT Stadium is scheduled for June 14, 2026. ...read more read less