DALLAS — The FIFA World Cup 2026 begins in less than a year, where Dallas will host nine World Cup matches. The full match schedule has now been unveiled, Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) has revealed its preliminary transportation plan and a local artist has designed the Dallas host city poster.

What You Need To Know

  • Fort Worth artist Matt Cliff designed the official host city poster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

  • The World Cup is in Dallas this year, so western culture was Cliff's inspiration for the poster

  • Cliff has worked on several pieces with musicians Leon Bridges and Post Malone, as well as the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers

  • He said reaching a worldwide audience means a lot for him as a Texas native

Matt Cliff, a Fort Worth native, explained how he came up with the idea for the host city poster. He said it all started by thinking about the western culture of the area. 

“When I wanted to come up with the concept, I thought the most interesting thing that would serve a global community would be to lean into the western culture but also the juxtaposition of the modernity of North Texas," Cliff said.

He submitted his artwork to a competition, where it was then selected as the official design for the FIFA World Cup 2026 host city poster.

“The central point was the cowboy doing the bicycle kick and I wanted him against a stark red with this bright blue sky and the white, I wanted all the colors of the Texas flag involved in some way," Cliff said.

Cliff said his design represents key aspects of Texas culture. 

"I had to figure out a way to kind of bridge the cowboy with the city so you see the soccer ball once its left his foot ends up in perfect placement with the ball of reunion tower," Cliff said. "So that was my way to merge soccer, western and modern skyscrapers and iconic skyline."

During the FIFA World Cup 2026 games, AT&T Stadium will be temporarily renamed "Dallas Stadium," and will host nine matches.

People from all over the world will make their way to the Dallas-Fort Worth area for the matches. The venue will host five group-stage games, two round of 32 fixtures, one round 16 tie and the first semi-final.

“It’s very rare to have something as massive as the World Cup come to your town," Cliff said. "Even though the games are being played in Arlington, Dallas is the name on the poster and I'm an artist from Fort Worth, it kind of encapsulates what this area is all about."

Cliff has worked on several pieces with musicians Leon Bridges and Post Malone, as well as the Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers.

“Technically I was doing this full time before, but I was doing other jobs to make ends meet," Cliff said. "I’ve been doing this for three years full time."

He said reaching a worldwide audience means a lot for him as a Texas native.

"Being able to have that international audience kind of come to my backyard here in North Texas and the scale that it’s on with it being on the side of a skyscraper in Dallas," Cliff said.