Knowing which teams are playing in Arlington for the World Cup has given planners new ideas of what exactly to prepare for during the tournament.
There will be some big names at the stadium in Arlington 鈥� defending champions Argentina will face off against Austria and Jordan while England will play against Croatia, all expected to be matches with big turnout.
For the first game in Arlington the Netherlands and Japan will take the field.
said Netherlands matches come with a unique turnout to the traditional march to the match.
Ahead of the June 14 match against Japan, LeVeaux says FIFA expects around 10,000 Dutch fans to flood the streets in Arlington in a march to the stadium ahead of the match.
鈥淭he Orange Army is a fandom in the Netherlands like you've never seen before,鈥� LeVeaux told Arlington鈥檚 city council Tuesday.
She said Dutch fans numbered around 100,000 when in 2024 they marched to the stadium in Berlin during the UEFA Euro tournament.
The Netherlands is obviously a lot closer to Berlin than it is to Arlington, so LeVeaux said the expected turnout isn鈥檛 anywhere near that.
Still, with the Orange Army expected at a strength of 10,000 people, LeVeaux said planners know a lot of those fans won鈥檛 be heading into the stadium when they reach it. Many will head off on a side quest to find a bar or restaurant nearby to watch the kickoff.
That means preparations are being made to help those fans navigate the entertainment district and to manage the flow of pedestrians and vehicle traffic.
With so many different nations represented in Arlington鈥檚 matches, Deputy City Manager Jennifer Wichmann said the city wants to make it easy for international visitors to get assistance from their nations if needed.
The Ambassador Village will give diplomatic representatives from across the globe a place to set up shop and offer services to their citizens. Wichmann has previously said the city is considering as a base of operations for the Ambassador Village.
The city has already reached out to the nations already qualified that will be playing in Arlington 鈥� Argentina, Japan, England, the Netherlands, Jordan, Austria and Croatia 鈥� to offer them a spot in the village.
The Mexican Consulate in Dallas has also expressed interest, Wichmann said.
Former Mexican General Consul in Dallas Francisco de la Torre Galindo told 四虎影院 before his departure earlier this year that Mexico wants to be represented in the Ambassador Village because Mexican soccer fans are expected to show up en masse for games all across the tournament.
Wichmann said Tuesday that the intention is still there because of the number of Mexican fans anticipated to show up for matches and other World Cup festivities.
While the city works out the details on that, FIFA has the daunting task of selecting around 6,500 volunteers from the more than 30,000 applications received in Arlington. Volunteers will be asked to work eight to 10 shifts, each about eight-hour long.
Those volunteers will receive a full World Cup kit with shoes, a backpack, a shirt and a hat.
When those volunteers are done working, the World Cup final has been played and the festivities are over, North Texas wants to ensure the tournament leaves a legacy in North Texas.
鈥淢ini pitches鈥� are one way FIFA and regional leaders in Dallas-Fort Worth.
LeVeaux said the mini pitch locations will be picked based on proposals submitted to FIFA. They鈥檙e intended to go in underserved neighborhoods, giving the community a place to gather and play soccer on a (much) smaller scale than the World Cup.
The mini pitches will be created with the U.S. Soccer Foundation.
鈥淭hey've done some research already to identify several places, but we wanna hear from the community,鈥� she told the council.
Applications for on the U.S. Soccer Foundation鈥檚 website.
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