Goodies for Footies

So, you’re shopping for the striker, goalkeeper, or hooligan on your list. That soccer fan might be especially fired up about the sport because the FIFA Men’s World Cup will visit the region next year. We have thoughts on how to use the impending December gift-giving season to set up your loved ones for the big event like Messi setting up a winger making a run.

North Texas will have a substantial role to play next summer as Tarrant County hosts nine matches, the most of any metropolitan area. The first thing you may be thinking is, “I should get them tickets to a game!” Individual game tickets won’t go on sale until next year, but you can purchase multi-game hospitality packages at this stage. Official hospitality provider On Location sells them online. Find the purchase link at the local host committee’s website, DallasFWC26.com.

Keep in mind, these are premium experiences in stadium clubs and suites, so expect to spend four figures and up. You can buy them for any of the host stadia across Canada, Mexico, and the United States. When booking, don’t be confused when FIFA calls the local venue “Dallas Stadium.” Yes, that designation is approximately as made-up as “Santa Claus Stadium,” since it reflects neither the actual name nor the location of Arlington-based AT&T Stadium. It’s a global sponsorship thing.

Since sports tickets are pretty much exclusively virtual these days, maybe you’d prefer a FWC present you can wrap. You can, once again, start with the host city website and pick up hoodies, shirts, posters, and caps branded with the local FWC imagery. Once again, it’s Dallas-branded, and I do recognize that some Fort Worthians would have to lose a large wager to agree to be seen in something reading, “We Are Dallas.” Perhaps you’d prefer to wear your favorite team’s jersey? Well, there’s nuance to the shirt situation. Not all the official designs that viewers will see in competition on the pitches in 2026 have been released, nor will they be before the end of the year. But if you’re buying for a fan of one of the top nations, you’ll have no problem finding something representative of their team.

In particular, Mexico and USA gear abounds in a number of locations. At Soccer City in Arlington, they told me they generally stock the Top 10 or so countries, with the likes of Spain, Germany, and Brazil on the shelves. Soccer Post (previously the Soccer Corner) in the Arlington Highlands has the kits that adidas has released so far. They’ve also got the official FIFA World Cup caps. The nearby Academy Sports + Outdoors has a big World Cup display right in the front of the store, even in the middle of (gridiron) football season, with prominent Messi/Argentina branding and other countries represented as well.

If you have a rooting interest in a team outside the best-known squads, it gets trickier. The likes of WorldSoccerShop.com can help with a small selection from mid-tier nations like Japan and Morocco, but if you’ve decided to get under the mistletoe with unexpected qualifiers like Uzbekistan or Curaçao, you’re going to have to search harder online. You might even have to have them shipped from abroad, which means you might want to get that order placed well before Santa starts his run. Unfortunately, the North Pole didn’t qualify this cycle. Elves are apparently better at building toys than building out of the back.

Something else to consider: There are no guarantees that your favorite team will play in Arlington. We know for sure that none of the host nations will play here before the knockout rounds, so what if you do end up with tickets to a game but didn’t think to have purchased a kit from either of the participants, like, say, for a Ghana vs. New Zealand or Cape Verde vs. Paraguay matchup? Well, why not rep the local team? The Fort Worth Vaqueros/Vaqueras have jerseys and season tickets on sale at FortWorthVaqueros.com. They recommend you order by Mon, Dec 15, to ensure delivery before Christmas.

Certainly, you don’t have to go with wearables. A number of locations, including Arlington’s Soccer Post, Soccer City, and Soccer Planet, offer replica FWC trophies of varying sizes. And, of course, there’s the adidas TRIONDA Pro Official Match Ball. You can acquire one in a number of sizes, including the jumbo version that’s more than 2.5 feet in diameter. Soccer Post has one of those for sale for $320 plus tax. Yeah, it won’t really fit under a tree. And if you buy it, make sure you pick it up in Mom’s SUV, not that cute Fiat you bought when Italy won the Men’s World Cup in 2006. Speaking of history, there’s a boxed collection of mini-balls from every World Cup since 1970 at several of these outlets.

On the smaller end of the sizing spectrum, DICK’S Sporting Goods offers the ball in the form of a hacky sack — a super soccer stocking stuffer. (Say that three times fast.) In addition to selling general World Cup merchandise in-store, they have a special online contest about to begin. DICK’S got Dominic Chambrone and his company, The Surgeon, to create a custom pair of sneakers by cutting up the official ball and adding panels from it to adidas Sambas. Each shoe has a different tongue, with one showcasing the TRIONDA ball graphic and the other bearing the 2026 FWC logo. Called the adidas Samba x TRIONDA, the limited-edition kicks are not for sale at retail, but you can try to win a pair for your special footy fan on the DICK’S App starting on Thu, Dec 4, at 9am.

One more note: The North Texas FWC Organizing Committee will host its official draw party at Billy Bob’s in the Stockyards on Fri, Dec 5, from 10am to 2pm. Admission is $10, and the information you gather might provide some clarity on exactly which obscure jersey you need to source in an XXL before Thu, Dec 25.