HARRIS COUNTY – HOUSTON SPORTS AUTHORITY INSIDER
Canetti ready for challenge of bringing World Cup to Houston
Nov 2, 2018, 6:51 am
Chris Canetti is taking on a new challenge. Patti Smith
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Chris Canetti grew up playing baseball in a soccer town.
While kids down the street were flocking to the pitch, he was more comfortable with a bat and a glove in his hands. He starred at first base in college and his first job after graduating was with Seattle and Colorado’s Double-A affiliate in New Haven, Conn., where, after a few years, became the youngest general manager in baseball at 26.
Soccer was still just another sport until 2000 when Canetti was hired by the then-New York MetroStars. And, while he had seen youth, high school and college soccer, he didn’t watch his first professional soccer match until his first day with the job.
Now, after 13 seasons with the Houston Dynamo, Canetti is trading his job as President of the Dynamo and Houston Dash for a prominent seat in international soccer by joining the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority as the President of the Houston World Cup Bid Committee.
He has mixed emotions. “I’ve been with the Dynamo since its inception and it’s been a major part of my life, so I’m sad to be moving on from that wonderful organization and that part of my life and the terrific memories it’s given me,’’ he said.
“But when you look beyond that, I’m excited about this amazing opportunity to come be a part of the Harris County – Houston Sports Authority and be part of the great team that’s going to lead the efforts in trying to bring the 2026 World Cup to Houston.’’
Canetti, who officially joins the Houston Sports Authority in January, was the longest tenured MLS team president with 13 years in that position and is a perfect fit for his new role.
In addition to overseeing seven trophy runs, including four MLS Conference titles, two MLS Cup titles and one US Open Cup title, Canetti led the effort to bring women’s professional soccer to the city in 2014 with the addition of the Houston Dash to the National Women’s Soccer League. He also oversaw the development and opening of BBVA Compass Stadium and played a lead role in bringing international teams and events to the city including having Manchester United play in the 2010 MLS All-Star game at Reliant Stadium (now NRG), a game that drew the fifth-largest All-Star game attendance at the time.
Two decades ago, Houston was a sleeping giant in the soccer world. Last week’s decision by Harris County – Houston Sports Authority Chairman of the Board J. Kent Friedman and CEO Janis Burke to hire Canetti to head the bid committee underscores Houston’s place in soccer and is a huge step in the bid to become one of 10 U.S. host cities for the 2026 World Cup.
The city hosted the #United2026 bid team last winter and is one of 17 American cities in the running for 10 spots.
Canada and Mexico have already chosen three host cities each – Edmonton, Toronto, Montreal, Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey. Houston is on the American list that includes New York, Washington DC, Miami, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Dallas, Boston, Cincinnati, Nashville, Atlanta, Orlando, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, Kansas City and Baltimore.
“I started to notice as we were going to events with national and international attendees how many relationships Chris has built over the years and his relationships go way deeper than anyone else’s,’’ Burke said. “I saw how respected he was.
“…Chris has great experience in this space and will be instrumental in our World Cup bid efforts. Although our region won a spot on the final bid submission that was sent in to FIFA, there is still much work ahead of us to guarantee that we make the cut from the 17 U. S. cities currently listed down to 10.’’
With 5.1 billion soccer fans worldwide, television coverage and a month of games and events at each host site, the estimated economic impact is $350-$450 million per city.
“I think it’s an amazing vision by Kenny and Janis to create a position like this and to bring someone along like me with the experience and background and network that I have, so hopefully I can be an important piece to the team here in putting Houston in a fantastic position to be awarded a World Cup,’’ Canetti said.
The decisions will be made in two years and Canetti will oversee Houston’s push.
“We know we have what it takes as a city to host the World Cup successfully, so we need to tell that story to the people outside of our city and let them see who we are and what we have so they can make the right decision and bring the World Cup to Houston,’’ he said.
“The other key piece to this is galvanizing the community and working with all the leadership throughout the community so we can come together with a real unified bid for this World Cup effort.”
In slightly less than two decades, Houston has become a major player on the national sports scene, hosting two Super Bowls, two Final Fours and three NCAA Men’s Basketball Regionals. Coming up, the city will host the 2023 Men’s Final Four, a 2020 NCAA Men’s Regional and U.S. Women’s (golf) Open and the 2024 College Football Playoff.
“There have been numerous big events here during my time - the Super Bowl and the Final Four were among the elite and amongst the biggest and the best,’’ he said. “But if we’re able to make this World Cup happen, it’s going to be bigger than anything anyone’s ever seen.
“That’s what is hard for people to understand and part of the story we have to tell. Having the World Cup here in 2026 will be like having multiple Super Bowls in the city in the course of a month.’’
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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