KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas City’s time on the global sports stage won’t end when the last name is announced on the final day of the 2023 NFL Draft.
The city is one of several host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that will welcome fans from across the globe in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
For FIFA officials wanting to get an early look at how the city handles large events, it was hard to pass up a visit during the NFL Draft.
Missouri Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe and his wife Claudia posted to Twitter on Saturday morning that they met with a group of FIFA representatives attending the draft.
“We look forward to Kansas City being an incredible host on the world stage again soon,” Kehoe said.
Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas was among those pictured with Missouri’s Lt. Gov. and the FIFA group.
Congratulations to Kansas City for making an incredible impression on the world during the #NFLDraft.
— Lt. Governor Mike Kehoe (@LtGovMikeKehoe) April 29, 2023
Thank you to @kathynelson_KC and the entire @SportKC team, @VisitKC, the @Chiefs, law enforcement, and all involved for their efforts to make the @NFLDraft safe and successful. pic.twitter.com/bWnkv4cbvV
Kansas City’s performance hosting the 2023 NFL Draft was not lost on Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, who was among those in attendance Thursday and Friday for the first three rounds of the draft.
“As governor of the state of Missouri, you have to be very proud of a city like Kansas City to be able to host the NFL Draft,” Parson said Friday. “Then you see Missouri really rolls out the red carpet to make sure that the event went super well, and really just to see what it means to the state to be on center stage across the U.S.”
Parson said he appreciated the work of people behind the scenes to put it all together.
“Kansas City just rocked it out of the park Thursday,” Parson said. “It was fun to be there and fun to see the atmosphere and to just see how well it went.”
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Look for more coverage of the 2023 NFL Draft below and at kshb.com/kcontheclock.
