Beau McCall, a county staff member and the county's lead on World Cup planning, told the Board of County Commissioners that Johnson County is in active preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and noted several near-term milestones.

"230 days to go," McCall said, summarizing the timeline and emphasizing that significant planning remains ahead of next June's matches. He told commissioners that the tournament's final draw will be held Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and that the bulk of tickets and related host-city information are expected to be released around that draw.

The details matter because the local exposure and demand will be large. McCall said about 1 million tickets were released in an early presale and that the presale attracted several million registered users; he also noted the U.S. holds the previous record of 3,400,000 tickets sold at the 1994 tournament as context for expected demand. He said KC 2026 released a small-business resource called the KC Game Plan that includes a small-business readiness assessment, business interest forms and training through KC SourceLink. McCall said a visitor demand forecast and a hospitality guide should follow the draw and that a FIFA public viewing licensing platform for businesses is expected later in the year.

McCall outlined public-facing local events and community programming tied to the World Cup: community