Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt talks World Cup anticipation & what to expect

About this episode

Clark Hunt discusses the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Kansas City and his experiences in soccer.

Kansas Citians will be “shocked in a good way” by the FIFA World Cup when it arrives here in June, says Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt. He should know. He’s been going to games of the world’s most popular sporting event since 1974, when he was 9. Hunt sat down with SportsBeat KC, the sports podcast of The Star and KCUR (89.3 FM) to discuss his World Cup experience and career in soccer. Hunt played in college at SMU and became one of the driving forces behind the formation of Major League Soccer, which was born after the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994. The Hunt family made their wealth in the oil business, and Lamar Hunt founded the American Football League and the Dallas Texans, the forerunner to the Chiefs. But the Hunts also were pioneers in U.S. soccer, and Kansas City likely wouldn’t be part of the World Cup without their influence. Rundown (timestamps are approximate) 1:16 - Clak Hunt breaks down why KC will be shocked by World Cup tourism 12:30 - How this stadium soccer stadium saved Major League Soccer 14:22 - Why Kansas City won its World Cup host city bid 15:59 - What else is on Blair’s radar? SportsBeat KC is the sports podcast of The Kansas City…

People in this episode

Host: Blair Kerkhoff

Guest: Clark Hunt

Topics covered

• FIFA World Cup
• soccer
• Kansas City
• Major League Soccer
• sports history
• Clark Hunt

Keywords

• FIFA World Cup
• Clark Hunt
• Kansas City
• Major League Soccer
• soccer history
• sports podcast

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Major League Soccer, American Football League

Places: Kansas City, SMU

More episodes of SportsBeat KC

• Eight years in the making, World Cup has arrived. Is Kansas City ready? · June 9, 2026 · 32 min
• Taking the good Chiefs news (Patrick Mahomes) with the bad (Rashee Rice) · June 2, 2026 · 31 min
• How did Kansas City become a U.S. soccer capital? Author explains on SportsBeat KC · May 26, 2026 · 30 min
• What to expect when Argentina, Netherlands arrive in Kansas City for World Cup · May 19, 2026 · 29 min
• FIFA World Cup opener less than a month away. Can event push through headwinds? · May 12, 2026 · 23 min
• Final word on the Chiefs’ draft: Analysis of Brett Veach’s most important class · April 28, 2026 · 31 min