If you’re a fan of soccer (football), you know that the World Cup is a pretty big deal, and in 2026, the World Cup is hosted in the USA. Games are spread among 16 host cities in the US, Canada and Mexico, including Dallas and Houston in Texas. Games here are scheduled at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and several North Texas facilities will be used as practice areas. Also, the World Cup International Broadcast Center (IBC) will be at the KBH Dallas Convention Center in downtown Dallas.
So what does this have to do with radio?
It’s the perfect excuse for a special event station (SES) where hams from all over the world (who are also soccer/football fans) are excited about the 2026 World Cup. For a little over a month in June-July 2026, you have the opportunity to be a part of history (or at least be on the other side of the pile-up and feel like the DX station).
Each “station” in the US host cities will actually be a number of individual home stations and operators, all operating with a special event callsign on a specific band and mode for a specific time. Think “13 Colonies”, where there are multiple stations on the air and your goal is to work them all in a specific time period.
There’s a website that will have all the scheduled stations and timeslots – https://www.wc2026ses.org/
Hams in Dallas (North Texas) will have the opportunity to sign up and go on the air as W5C, using their home station and equipment, for as many band-mode timeslots are available. Our own Joe W5MGY is in charge of scheduling the Dallas stations and he’s ready for signups, so go here to register: Dallas World Cup Signup
By signing up, you will agree to operate using the W5C/D special event callsign for the period of your signups on the band and mode that you signed up for. You will be given instructions on how to log the special event QSOs. You can sign up for as many slots as you want, but you will be expected to operate during all of the slots that you sign up for (so that a station is guaranteed to be on the air during that time). Normal operating protocols are expected for the band/mode that you are operating.
This should be a lot of fun, and how many of us actually get the chance to “be” the DX? Now’s your chance!
