Chad Windham and his daughter (Photo by Danny Fulgencio).
We learned recently that Dallas will be a host city for the 2026 World Cup.
It happened before, back in 1994, when matches took place at the Cotten Bowl.
The bid to bring the Cup to Dallas began several years ago with a campaign to host the event in North America, and a photographer from East Dallas, Chad Windham, was elemental in the process.
In 2019 Windham told the Advocate that putting together FIFA’s official video for the 2026 World Cup in North America involved some of the most significant work of his career.
“I’ve done a lot of cool things — traveled all over the world, shot for big clients — but as far as the number of people this project affects, it’s the largest project I’ve ever done.”
As director of photography for the United 2026 film pitch, Windham — along with a team of creatives — traveled to New York City, Toronto, Dallas and Mexico City for footage that included AT&T Stadium at daybreak and the iconic Estadio Azteca — home of the 1970 “Game of the Century” and 1986 “Goal of the Century.”
In 2018, FIFA announced Canada, Mexico and the United States would jointly host the 2026 Cup.
It will mark the first time the tournament has been hosted across three nations and just the second occasion that countries have co-hosted the competition, following Korea Republic and Japan in 2002, U.S. Soccer reported. Dallas was one of 23 candidates for host city and one of 11 chosen. All the candidates purportedly boast “world-class stadiums,” “elite training facilities” and “modern and interconnected transportation network.”
Asked if this was bigger than winning the hosting rights for a Super Bowl, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said: “Candidly, I think it’s broader interest from the perspective of Dallas. The longer I’m in sport, the more I realize how important soccer is to this world. To be able to participate in such an event is … really awesome and inspiring.”
