Nina Vaca, the tech CEO daughter of immigrants, and Dan Hunt, the heir to a sports empire, bounce off one another with an easy chemistry that suggests years of partnership. In fact, they were only officially elected co-chairs of the North Texas World Cup Organizing Committee in December.
With differing backgrounds but sharing decades of experience in business and a palpable ion for the city, the pair have accepted an immense challenge: bring a “world-class World Cup” to Dallas. They spoke as a unit for the first time this week, one year before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“It literally takes an army to put together a World Cup. And so what the North Texas Organizing Committee, what Dan and I, plan to do is to use our leadership to deliver the best World Cup — no pun intended — the world has ever seen,” Vaca told The Dallas Morning News in an exclusive interview Monday.
Vaca founded the information technology firm Pinnacle Group in Dallas in 1996 and it has grown to serve over 20% of Fortune 100 companies, according to the company’s website. Hunt, meanwhile, has irons all over the sports fire, serving as president of FC Dallas since 2014 and assisting with his family’s longtime interest in the Kansas City Chiefs, among other ventures.
Not in spite of, but because of, their unique personal stories, they share two guiding principles — integrity and legacy — as they lead the city they see as the epicenter of the 2026 World Cup, they said.
“I know how we operate our businesses, and we do things the right way,” Hunt said. “[World Cups] are massive events. Doing it the right way is the most important thing to both of us.”
‘Integrity’
Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, temporarily under the alias Dallas Stadium, will host nine matches after the World Cup opens in Mexico City on June 11, 2026. Those nine matches are the most of any city across the three host countries — the United States, Canada and Mexico. North Texas could also serve as the base camp of up to six national teams, using facilities from Toyota Stadium in Frisco to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth.
There’s more to the World Cup than matches. Dallas has already secured the location for the Cup’s International Broadcast Center at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. Around 2,000 media will broadcast the main feed for all matches from Dallas. Hunt says that alone could bring up to $400 million in local economic impact. The FIFA Fan Festival in Fair Park will also host thousands to watch games, listen to live music and engage with fan experiences.
Each of these requires huge amounts of money and labor, and the North Texas Organizing Committee has 18 subcommittees to manage all the moving parts: “Sustainability, transportation, safety, volunteerism, Fan Fest, human rights, you name it,” Vaca said.
“There is so much that goes into this, doing it the right way, doing it with integrity, doing it with honesty, doing it in a fair manner,” said Hunt, who has sat in “hundreds, if not thousands” of meetings since 2017 to bring the World Cup to Dallas.
The North Texas Organizing Committee’s work includes coordinating with local and federal governments and securing funding to protect visitors coming through North Texas. Sustainability is also a priority, and Hunt highlighted the advantage North Texas, and the wider U.S., has in this respect. Past host countries have had to construct stadiums that now sit empty. But here, premier venues already exist.
While transportation, or a lack thereof, has been a concern for Dallas’ World Cup efforts, Hunt pointed out the chance to turn those limitations into a uniquely American experience.
“This is a driving culture, and tailgating, the opportunities that exist around that, for our very own Texas spin, I think that was one of the eye-opening things for [FIFA] when we were having these conversations in 2021,” he said.
‘Legacy’
The reward for all this work is around $2 billion in economic impact and the creation of over 13,000 jobs, Vaca said. She is particularly excited about the potential for local small businesses to benefit from the World Cup, while Hunt, a ball boy in the 1994 World Cup, spoke about the 10,000 volunteers needed in the region, positions that have a chance of launching careers in sports.
“That allows us to do two things: number one, deliver a world-class World Cup, but it also allows us to leave a legacy behind long after the winner is announced,” Vaca said.
For the first time, host cities can sell 10 local sponsorships, and Hunt said the committee hopes to use that money not only for this World Cup, but to Dallas’ bid for the 2031 the Women’s World Cup and to help underserved communities. That includes building community fields and growing opportunities for youth to participate in soccer.
“The value that Dan and I share, and quite frankly the reason I accepted this role, is because we share the value of giving back,” Vaca said.
The pair agreed that leading Dallas’ World Cup charge is an emotional experience for them, Vaca as the daughter of Ecuadorian immigrants and Hunt as the son of one of the pioneers of American soccer.
“Like classic immigrant parents, my father worked several jobs, and they were in pursuit of the American Dream, and they found it through small businesses,” Vaca said. She pointed out that 41% of the Dallas community is Latino, as well as how excited she is, and how important it is, to reach every fan and community member.
“I’m very ionate about the power of economic development, particularly when you bring it to diverse communities. I’m living proof of that,” she said. “I moved to Dallas, Texas in 1996 and I knew one person … This city means so much to me. It represents opportunity, and I want to share that opportunity.”
Her co-chair could hardly have a more different background. But Hunt speaks of his upbringing and parents with the same piety. The grandson of oil tycoon H.L. Hunt and son of sports magnate Lamar Hunt, Dan Hunt is Dallas born and bred. His late father played a central role in popularizing soccer in the U.S., first as founder of pro soccer team the Dallas Tornado in 1967, and then helping bring the 1994 World Cup to the U.S. and Dallas, in the process helping found Major League Soccer.
Hunt is in many ways now following in his father’s footsteps, helping bring the World Cup back to Dallas 40 years later and leading FC Dallas, not only a half-a-billion-dollar soccer franchise but one of the premier academies in the U.S.
“I recently dropped my name and I now just go by ‘Soccer,’” Hunt joked. “It’s so many blessings and good luck and fortune and opportunity, but more importantly, it’s just my ion for the game. We’ve been doing this for a very long time. This is something that we deem as our family’s legacy in the United States.”
One year out from the start of the World Cup, Vaca and Hunt are leaning on those legacies to leave one of their own.
“Whether the lift is heavy or not, doesn’t matter what day it is, just the joy that I get to be part of this and tell the story of the country and have a little hand in guiding what goes on, but also making sure it’s done the right way,” Hunt said.
“I know what it means to have a goal, and that is exactly the mindset that I’m bringing to this entire committee,” Vaca said. “It’s going to take discipline, it’s going to take endurance, it’s going to take commitment, and we will deliver the best World Cup.”