From World Cup host city buzz to a home All-Star Game — how it all lines up.
Soccer doesn't usually dominate a North American summer the way this one has. Here's the timeline connecting the World Cup to the match happening in Charlotte's own backyard.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup ran June 11 through July 19 across 16 host cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico — the first World Cup hosted by three nations and the first at the expanded 48-team format. For a lot of casual fans, it was the first time they'd watched international soccer at this scale without needing to stay up past midnight for kickoff.
While the World Cup played out, MLS clubs kept their own season moving with friendlies and roster moves, several against visiting international sides. Charlotte FC, the league's youngest expansion market with a passionate supporters' culture, spent the tournament window preparing to host the league's biggest showcase of the year.
As the World Cup wound toward its final rounds, attention shifted to Charlotte, where the 2026 MLS All-Star Game — presented by Chime — was set for Bank of America Stadium on July 29. For the first time, the format pits MLS All-Stars against a Liga MX All-Star squad, with several selected players coming directly off World Cup rosters just weeks earlier.
Chime's push into soccer lines up with a broader trend of fintech and digital-first brands sponsoring sports properties with young, fast-growing fan bases — MLS attendance and viewership have both trended upward through the 2020s, particularly among younger fans who also skew toward mobile-first banking.