By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
St. Joseph looks to get a piece of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Kansas City Area Development Council President, Tim Cowden, says the World Cup is not just the biggest sporting event in the world, it is the biggest event, period.
Cowden does believe St. Joseph will benefit from Kansas City hosting some of the World Cup games in 2026 at Arrowhead Stadium.
“There’s a lot that’s happening right now with the planning of the World Cup,” Cowden says. “It’s to be engaged and to listen at this point and to be creative.”
Kansas City is one of 16 North American cities hosting World Cup games. The World Cup will bring soccer fans from throughout the world to the United States, creating as much as $620 million of economic activity to host cities.
Cowden says St. Joseph needs to welcome those traveling to the United States to watch their team.
“There will be thousands of people from around the world that will come to the Kansas City region,” according to Cowden. “I would be thinking of this now. How can you position St. Joe to be attractive to all these people from far flung places around the world that will want not just to explore Kansas City, but the region around it.”
History might be the attraction.
“St. Joseph has a wonderful history and tremendous aspects to the community, food and all sorts of things,” Cowden says. “Again, the history of St. Joe is really interesting to people, particularly from other counties.”
St. Joseph could possibly host a team for practices, likely at the Chiefs Training Camp facility on the Missouri Western State University campus.