When the FIFA World Cup™ came to the United States in 1994, it jump-started a rebirth of soccer across the nation. Dallas played a major role in the tournament, which still holds World Cup attendance records today.
Dallas’ historic Cotton Bowl Stadium hosted six matches, including a second-round elimination contest and a memorable quarterfinal match between the Netherlands and Brazil, remembered as arguably the entire tournament’s top match.
Dallas was also proud host of the International Broadcast Center (IBC). Organizers had taken note of the region’s central location in the United States, and how historic Fair Park’s art deco buildings all around the Cotton Bowl Stadium created the ideal IBC location. Thus, the world’s broadcasts and their studio shows were based just a short hop from downtown Dallas.
Following the success of the World Cup, Dallas was seen as a soccer city. Soon to follow were additional international tournaments, along with international friendlies. Fair Park hosted half of the 1993 CONCACAF Gold Cup matches, and since AT&T Stadium has opened, it’s hosted Gold Cup matches in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2017, with Toyota Stadium also hosting matches in 2017 and 2019. There have also been a number of friendlies played in the region, bringing worldwide soccer stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to Dallas.
Dallas has become the second home of the Mexican National Team, hosting numerous friendlies and international matches featuring the Mexican National Team, including the first sporting event in AT&T Stadium and a memorable match in 2012 when 84,000 fans saw El Tri beat five-time FIFA World Cup champion Brazil, 2-0. Mexico will continue to be a regular visitor for friendlies and community engagements over the next four years through a groundbreaking partnership with the city.
With Lamar Hunt leading the way, Dallas played a significant role in the creation of America’s initial pro soccer league, the NASL. In the initial year, foreign clubs doubled as American teams in the league, thus Scotland’s Dundee United masqueraded as the Dallas Tornado. The Tornado went on to win the championship in 1971, but the Tornado’s greatest legacy may have come as the players from those teams, mainly from Europe and South America, remained in Dallas and started youth clubs and programs.
Major League Soccer arrived in Dallas in 1996 when the Dallas Burn became one of 10 charter members of the MLS. The team made it through the league’s rough patches and won the U.S. Open Cup in 1997, its first major trophy. In 2005, the team rebranded to FC Dallas and moved north to Frisco into what was just the third major soccer-specific stadium constructed in the country. As FC Dallas, the team won the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and the 2016 MLS Supporters Shield. The stadium added the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2018.
Not only is Dallas home to the second largest youth soccer organization in the country, but it also serves as host to numerous youth soccer tournaments and other events that typically draw hundreds of teams and thousands of young athletes and their families to the region every weekend.
Dallas Cup receives the most headlines, and for great reason. Since 1980 it has been this country’s most prestigious youth soccer event. It’s become so massive that it utilizes most of the local soccer facilities for the weeklong event. But Dallas Cup is far from the only local youth soccer presence. The Dallas area is home to US Youth Soccer, the largest National Association member of US Soccer. Also located here is the headquarters for the North Texas State Soccer Association, one of the largest State Associations in US Soccer, for both youth and adult amateur players. And recently, Dallas added another major youth soccer tournament when it hosted the Generation Adidas Cup, a newly formed U15 tournament featuring MLS and Liga MX clubs.
North Texas also boasts numerous universities with soccer programs that show the far-reaching capabilities of the soccer community within North Texas. Dallas Baptist University, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Texas Wesleyan University, Texas Women’s University, The University of Texas at Dallas, and the University of Dallas all field strong soccer programs in the North Texas area.
The National Soccer Hall of Fame (NSHOF) is the first major league sports Hall of Fame to be built within a stadium. It opened in 2018 as part of a $55 million renovation at FC Dallas’ Toyota Stadium. The Hall of Fame contains two components: the NSHOF Experience and the HOF Club.
The interactive NSHOF Experience allows fans to be part of the game through virtual reality, along with gesture technology and interactive digital video boards. Throughout the museum you’ll also see tons of soccer memorabilia – 400 pieces to be exact, including FIFA Women’s World Cup trophies, championship jerseys, and a Hall of Fame inductees wall. The museum also includes stations where you can design your own scarf or kit and build your fantasy team. It’s a salute to the past and present, while also allowing fans a glimpse into the future. The Experience also serves as home to the Hall of Fame annual induction ceremonies.
The HOF Club includes specialty seating for season ticket holders for all FC Dallas home games, as well as multiple event spaces that will function as food and beverage hubs on game days.
