It was a shock to North Texas sports fans that the greatest sporting event in the world wouldn’t play its final game in Dallas-Fort Worth.
From an international visitor perspective, it may make a little more sense for the big game to be hosted on the East Coast at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where two major airports could bring in thousands of passengers from all over. Several other major airports in nearby cities also serve as busy entry points for global travelers.
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The World Cup will be played across all of North America from Canada through Mexico from June 11 to July 19. In the last several years, teams from Europe and South America have played in the final, most recently, Argentina and France in 2022.
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This year in June and July, Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York will see 21,948 flights to and from Europe with over 5.5 million seats available, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The two airports are closest to MetLife.
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There will also be 3,051 flights to and from South America to the two East Coast airports during that same time, accounting for 632,543 seats available. To and from Mexico in June and July, 2,900 flights will fly and 508,726 seats are available, Cirium data shows. There’s also LaGuardia Airport close by, which serves Canada.
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A little further away, but still a key entry point for international travelers are Boston Logan International Airport, Philadelphia International Airport and Dulles International Airport in the Washington, D.C., area. They host nearly 15,000 additional flights for soccer fans traveling to and from Europe, South America and Mexico. That includes 6,056 flights in Boston; 2,658 in Philadelphia and 5,922 at Dulles.
Compare that to DFW International Airport, where 2,283 flights to and from Europe will arrive in June and July this year, with approximately 662,319 seats available, Cirium data shows. Only 244 flights to and from South America will fly at DFW in June and July, with 50,386 seats available.
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But there are, of course, significantly more flights between Mexico and Dallas-Fort Worth. According to Cirium, 8,100 flights will arrive and depart between Mexico and Dallas-Fort Worth in June and July this year with 1,222,374 seats available.
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FIFA recently renewed its longstanding partnership with Qatar Airways through 2030. The partnership covers significant FIFA tournaments, including the 2026 World Cup, the 2027 Women’s World Cup, the 2030 World Cup, as well as all youth men’s and women’s tournaments.
Fans will have access to exclusive travel packages including match tickets, flights and accommodations for select FIFA tournaments through a dedicated Qatar Airways platform, according to their partnership announcement. In June and July, Qatar is only operating 1,020 flights to the U.S., Canada or Mexico. Of those flights, 122 will arrive at DFW Airport.
Monica Paul, executive director for the Dallas Sports Commission, told The Dallas Morning News at a press conference on Monday that conversations have happened with FIFA about the airports, including site visits to DFW Airport and Dallas Love Field.
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“I think the connectivity that we have here and the ease of access to get from both Canada and Mexico, along with the East and West coast as the central location was a big plus,” Paul said. “I haven’t evaluated the New York and New Jersey airports versus DFW, but I’m pretty certain we’re one of the top in the world. Being home to American Airlines and Southwest is a plus too. So I don’t think airports were a determining factor. If anything, I think it was a real plus for us.”
On Sunday, Dallas Cowboys owner and billionaire Jerry Jones talked about the challenges the World Cup Dallas committee faced in getting to where they got. It’s a hard sell to an institution like FIFA, as the U.S. is seen globally as New York or Los Angeles, with only flyover country in between.
Despite this, AT&T Stadium will be the site of nine World Cup matches in 2026, including a semifinal. No other stadium will host as many matches in what will be the largest World Cup to date: 48 teams in 104 matches, spread across three countries – the United States, Mexico and Canada.
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“The competition in dealing with the perception of a New York or an L.A. – if these games were just played in the U.S. or just for America, it would not have been as formidable,” Jones said. “But internationally, that is formidable to overcome.’’
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