Perfect Pitch: How Kansas City Became the Heart of American Soccer and Landed the World Cup

by Nate Bukaty, Rustin Dodd

When the World Cup comes to the United States in the summer of 2026, it will be the first time the tournament has been played in America in 32 years. It will also be the first time the tournament is held in Kansas City, Missouri,For Kansas City, it will be one of the biggest moments in the city's history. It will also be the culmination of a decades-long How Kansas City, an overlooked city in the Midwest, became the heart of American soccer.



In Perfect Pitch, Nate Bukaty and Rustin Dodd chronicle this surprising and delightful evolution, tracing the history of soccer in Kansas City and how that history laid the foundation for a group of local sports executives, city officials, politicians, and rabid fans to lead an improbable bid to host the World Cup.



A true underdog tale, Kansas City's emergence as a soccer capital is symbolic of the larger national story of how America grew from a soccer-skeptical nation to a country with its own unique and vibrant footballing culture. Featuring exclusive behind-the-scenes access to key figures who spurred this soccer renaissance, Perfect Pitch is a heartwarming romp for fans of the beautiful game.

Genres: Soccer

208 pages, Paperback

Published May 26, 2026

Reviews

[David Przybylinski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve lived in Kansas City for 19 years now and I’ve never really known much of the history of soccer here. Is a matter of fact, I didn’t even know there was an NASL team in Kansas City for three years. As someone who played the game from age 8 all the way through college, I’ve always been a follower of my local teams. So having moved here from San Diego and being a galaxy season ticket Holder I decided to get a partial season ticket to watch the Kansas City Wizards play. That was when they were playing at the T-bones ballpark.

This book taught me a lot about the history of Sporting Kansas City as well as the history of the women’s program. I really enjoyed the inside scoop on how we got the World Cup in 2026. I was able to attend a match and take part in some of the festivities. It was a lot of fun something I won’t forget.

Nate does a great job of putting together the history and connecting it all together. I would love to see an extension of this book to add how things went with the World Cup here because in my opinion, it was fantastic and the people were amazing.

I highly recommend reading this book. It doesn’t take long as it’s a very interesting read, and you don’t want to put it down.

[Megan Richardson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a great book .. Nate's passion for everything Kansas City shines thru, which makes it a fun read, but more importantly, his knowledge and first hand experience with Kansas City's soccer history will undoubtedly provide behind the scene details which many of us never knew. It's a quick, inspiring read -- I didn't read until until after the World Cup had already left Kansas City in 2026 (just last week) but it helps to recreate the excitement that we all felt here for the past 4 weeks!

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting read about how soccer culture grew in the most unlikely place.

[Staceyalgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast and fun read. Quite the soccer love letter to KC and soccer. Interesting KC history and their quest to host the World Cup.

[Morgan Nicolle · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a Kansas Citian, this book gave me greater appreciation for the efforts countless people have put in to make soccer and the World Cup a vibrant and celebratory moment for our city.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great local history of soccer culture in KC and how a mid size city attracted the world cup in 2026 and hosted four teams.

[Liz Yielding · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful and heart warming- the perfect end cap to the 2026 World Cup after having visited KC.