FIFA World Cup 2026 Bid — Kansas City
In 2017, Kansas City made a bet. A nearly 200-page bet that a city once dismissed as flyover country belonged on the world's biggest stage.
I was part of the creative team that built that case. For two weeks straight, 7am to midnight, we designed, wrote, and assembled the FIFA World Cup 2026 host city bid book: a document that had to convince one of the world's most powerful governing bodies that Kansas City was ready. Not just logistically. Culturally. Emotionally. Completely.
The book's thesis was simple and defiant. Kansas City isn't a compromise host city. It's the heart of it all. A city of fountains, art, jazz, sport, community, and barbecue. A city that turned a state-line divide into a rallying cry, United, and meant every word of it.
In 2022, FIFA agreed. Six games, a quarterfinal, and four national team base camps (Argentina, England, Netherlands, and Algeria) are coming to Kansas City this summer. And on that quarterfinal pitch, Messi and Ronaldo may share a field one last time. The book worked. The city showed up. The world is about to find out what we already knew.
The Challenge
In 2017, Kansas City had one shot. The USA, Mexico, and Canada had just won hosting rights for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and 17 North American cities were competing to become one of 16 host venues. Our job was to build the creative case that Kansas City deserved a place among them.
The deliverable was a nearly 200-page bid book covering everything from stadium infrastructure to human rights records, sustainability plans to cultural identity. The audience was FIFA's global evaluation committee. The challenge was not just to meet their standards. It was to make Kansas City unforgettable in a field of cities with bigger names, bigger budgets, and bigger reputations.
"The success of Kansas City's bid is a testament to the accomplishments we can achieve when we work together."
Cliff Illig, Principal Owner, Sporting Kansas City — on the day of FIFA's announcement, June 2022
The Process
For two weeks straight, 7am to midnight, SKC’s creative team built the book from the ground up. Every chapter had to tell a coherent story while meeting FIFA's strict formatting requirements — designing simultaneously for the evaluation committee and for the city of Kansas City itself.
The visual language had to carry the full weight of KC's identity: its Midwestern confidence, its soccer culture, its "United" spirit. Two cities across a state line, one voice. The book's headline, "In the Heart of It All," set the tone. Every spread had to earn it.
The Outcome
On June 16, 2022, FIFA announced Kansas City as one of 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup. The announcement was made in front of a packed crowd in the Power and Light District — the same neighborhood that had become the country's best soccer party during the 2014 World Cup. The city had come full circle.
Kansas City will host six games at Arrowhead Stadium this summer, including a quarterfinal. Argentina, England, the Netherlands, and Uruguay have all chosen Kansas City as their official base camp — more Pot 1 teams than any other host city in the tournament.
“When they come to Kansas City, they’re choosing world-class training environments and a region with deep soccer roots and an authentic, knowledgeable culture of hospitality. Hosting four national teams isn’t symbolic — it’s confirmation that our region stands among the best in the world.”
The Team Behind the Creative
Art/Design: Chad Reynolds, Nate Saathoff, Olivia Brestal, Cortney Park
Photo: Nate Saathoff, Olivia Brestal, Tyler McBee
Special Thanks: Sporting Kansas City, City of Kansas City, Kansas, Missouri, FIFA