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Anyone who knows me understands that I love football, and they know that there’s little else I’d rather be doing any weekend day during the fall than soaking in football from as many sources as possible. That’s American football. That other fútbol, which I affectionately call soccer, doesn’t really enter my sphere of influence.

I’m told that will change, and that it should begin this summer, when the eyes and hopeful minds of the game’s four billion fans focus in on World Cup 2026 across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

To be brutally honest, soccer is not my sport. Maybe it’s the running. Or the flailing. Or the headers. The raucous fans. The overzealous announcers. The running. I also don’t like the predictable low scoring; or that the clock works opposite from any other sport where time is kept. And don’t get me started about the inability to use your freaking hands, except for certain moments. And ALL that running!

As a working journalist for, well, … several years, I’ve been around both men’s and women’s World Cup competitions before in this country, and covered stories about their impact on local communities and fans of far-away places. But the excitement and fervor for the game I saw in others never stuck with me. Will it this year? Perhaps. And the roofing industry is providing the biggest reasons why.

The Venues

For starters, the games, er, matches are played in major stadiums in front of tens of thousands of fans across the three countries. Those include some landmark facilities that we’ve had the good fortune to write about at RC. That’s one of the many benefits of this job, since most of these modern-day architectural marvels have fantastic roofs.

Look at the lineup of memorable venues on the World Cup itinerary, ranging from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., to Hard Rock Stadium in Miami; to Texas, where Houston’s NRG Stadium and AT&T Stadium will be on display. Fans will also turn out in California where Sofi Stadium, in Los Angeles, and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Rosa—host of the most recent Super Bowl—will be filled. The competition will also reach Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, for eight matches, and will conclude at New York’s MetLife Stadium, host of 8 matches, including the World Cup final.

The Variety

This year’s competition will have more teams (48) than the usual 32, and a record 104 scheduled matches over the month-long event. Ten of those teams will hail from Latin American countries, including powerhouses Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Mexico. That covers a lot of territory across two continents and provides rooting interests for roofing contractors everywhere. And they come from just about everywhere.

The Latino roofing contractor community is so diverse and represents such a mix of cultures. One of the lasting images I took away from attending my first Latinos in Roofing Expo in Los Angeles was seeing of the dozens of flags representing where the hundreds of roofers in attendance – or their ancestors – came from. Flags of countries I didn’t recognize, and some I haven’t probably seen in years. The impressive list included Chile, Cuba, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and many more.

The more I thought about it, just in the past two years since RC launched Techos y Más, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting roofing contractors that either grew up outside of the U.S. or have roots across Latin America, ranging from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Venezuela, Columbia, Honduras, Ecuador, and Mexico.

I’m told this year’s competition is wide open, and there are certainly going to be some rivalries and emotions exposed over the next few weeks.

The Voices

Another look at the host cities, and it’s clear that the roofing industry has a major presence in all of them. The contractor communities are also particularly strong and tightknit in places like Dallas, Los Angeles, Kansas City and Philadelphia. Some roofing companies and their suppliers are already actively preparing watch parties. They’re looking for ways to connect with others in the industry while this global phenomenon unfolds.

ABC Supply Co. tried to leverage the excitement over this year’s World Cup early by bringing Team U.S.A. Soccer legend Landon Donovan to the show floor at the 2026 International Roofing Expo.

Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific is an official partner of the Atlanta World Cup 2026 Host Committee and will assist in hosting all eight matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, including a semifinal. So, get ready for a lot of GP branding. The Home Depot is also a co-host, and SRS Distribution, its recently acquired distribution subsidiary, has announced an eight-stop, tailgate-style road tour tied to match-day events nationwide.

With all that excitement brewing, I guess what I’m looking forward to most is learning about the teams with the best players, the most compelling stories, and the ones that will cement memories for years, and possibly even generations to come. That’s where you come in. I doubt I’ll truly be able to get that type of insight and passion from watching the matches on television or streaming. Instead, I want to hear it from you. I want the loudest, most dedicated, and patriotic soccer fans in roofing to tell me who to watch, what to look for, and what matches not to miss. Leave your tips, ideas, recommendations and more in the comments section below.

Best, and enjoy the ride!