{"id":896442,"date":"2026-06-27T12:35:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/896442\/"},"modified":"2026-06-27T12:35:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T12:35:21","slug":"fifa-installs-curtains-at-dallas-stadium-for-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/896442\/","title":{"rendered":"FIFA Installs Curtains At Dallas Stadium For World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n                                    Black curtains covered west window wall at Dallas Stadium during Thursday&#8217;s FIFA match | Image by Cj McCann\/X                                <\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">For the first time during a major sporting event, curtains were installed inside Dallas Stadium (AT&amp;T Stadium) to block sunlight streaming through the venue\u2019s massive west-facing glass wall during a 2026 FIFA World Cup match.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The temporary change was in place Thursday for the group-stage match between Japan and Sweden, <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/att-stadium-curtains-sweden-japan-dallas-cowboys-975dd0c7fc441776cfe6693844dd7887\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">marking<\/a> a notable departure from the long-standing approach favored by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who has repeatedly dismissed calls to install curtains during NFL games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The stadium, temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium for the World Cup under FIFA branding rules, hosted the evening match with black curtains covering the west-end glass panels while the east-end windows remained uncovered.<\/p>\n<p>Long-Standing Issue at Cowboys Games<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Dallas Stadium\u2019s east-west orientation has made sunlight a recurring issue during late-afternoon football games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Unlike most NFL stadiums, which are built on a north-south axis, the Cowboys\u2019 home stadium allows the setting sun to shine directly through its western glass wall, at times affecting players\u2019 visibility.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The glare has influenced several games over the years, including the Cowboys\u2019 Thanksgiving Day matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs last November.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Following that game, Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens said he lost sight of a pass because of the sun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cThe sun was beating in my eyes, so I couldn\u2019t see,\u201d Pickens said afterward, according to the Associated Press.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Teammate CeeDee Lamb responded by joking, \u201cHe already knew it. Welcome to Dallas, bro,\u201d referencing similar issues he experienced during the 2024 season.<\/p>\n<p>Jerry Jones Previously Rejected Curtain Proposal<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although curtains have been used at Dallas Stadium for concerts and other special events, Jones has consistently opposed installing them for Cowboys games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">In 2024, he dismissed criticism over the stadium\u2019s design.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cWe do know where the damn sun is going to be in our own stadium,\u201d Jones said at the time, per AP.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">He then added, \u201cLet\u2019s just tear the damn stadium down and build another one. Are you kidding me?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Jones had not attended any World Cup matches at the stadium as of Thursday.<\/p>\n<p>FIFA Takes a Different Approach<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Thursday\u2019s match kicked off at 6 p.m. local time, with sunset occurring around 8:40 p.m., creating the potential for direct sunlight during portions of the game.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Although skies remained overcast for much of the afternoon, the sun emerged roughly an hour before kickoff, validating FIFA\u2019s decision to install the curtains.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Earlier World Cup matches at the venue relied primarily on the stadium\u2019s tinted windows, but organizers opted for the additional sun-blocking measure for the evening contest.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">The match between Japan and Sweden <a href=\"https:\/\/dallasexpress.com\/sports\/thrilling-1-1-draw-in-arlington-japan-and-sweden-battle-to-knockout-stage-at-2026-world-cup\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">ended<\/a> in a 1-1 draw, with both teams advancing to the tournament\u2019s Round of 32, as The Dallas Express reported at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Fans Approve of the Change<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">Some fans welcomed the temporary modification and suggested it should become a permanent feature during Cowboys games.<\/p>\n<p class=\"isSelectedEnd\">\u201cI think they should do it for the football games,\u201d Austin resident Jesse Nunez said while attending his first event at the stadium, AP reported. \u201cI\u2019ve seen plays where you can see the players actively can\u2019t see.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dallas Stadium is scheduled to host nine matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The next contest at the venue is set for Saturday between Argentina and Jordan. Because that match begins later in the evening, the stadium\u2019s sun glare is not expected to be a factor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Black curtains covered west window wall at Dallas Stadium during Thursday&#8217;s FIFA match | Image by Cj McCann\/X&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":896443,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,59853,363248,363246,201687,1596,363250,355654,41190,363249,363247,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-896442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-att-stadium","tag-att-stadium-curtains","tag-att-stadium-world-cup","tag-curtains","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys-sun-glare","tag-dallas-stadium","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-jerry-jones-att-stadium","tag-sun-glare","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116822102897475765","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}