Soccer fans have arrived in Houston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, turning our city into a meeting place for the world. From snapping photos at Buc-ee’s to sharing their first taste of Tex-Mex and Texas barbecue on social media, visitors are discovering everything Houston has to offer.
As the excitement continues to spread across the city, our organization has joined the celebration in meaningful ways, bringing the spirit of the World Cup into our hallways, onto the field and into patient care.
Across our campuses, team members wore jerseys representing national teams and clubs, reflecting the countries they are rooting for and the many places our community calls home.
The global game has also created special moments for our patients. Ahead of Houston’s FIFA World Cup match between Germany and Curaçao, our clinicians helped select patients to serve as official flag bearers. They carried national flags onto the field before an international audience, representing our organization on one of soccer’s biggest stages.
That same spirit reached travelers arriving at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where a display in Terminal E tells the story of Brinnley, a patient who spent more than seven months at Texas Children’s battling leukemia. She has since completed treatment with support from her care team at our Cancer and Hematology Center and now plays varsity and club soccer again.
Our Child Life team brought the World Cup closer to our community by painting soccer balls alongside patients, while soccer ball installations across our campuses, including a giant display at Legacy Tower, gave team members a chance to pause and make new memories with colleagues.
As the World Cup continues, our organization will keep creating special moments that bring team members, patients and families together. View the photos below that capture those moments!
