Texas NICUs Prepare Their Tiniest Patients for the 2026 World Cup with Custom Outfits, Including a Baby Referee Costume

Nurses also swaddled the babies in soccer blankets and laced up hand-knit cleats

Texas NICU's Tiniest Patients Prepare for the World Cup with Custom Costume
Texas NICU patients get dressed up for the 2026 World Cup.Credit : 

Several hospitals in Texas are getting their tiniest patients ready for the World Cup.

Nurses across the Methodist Health System helped the little ones get ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup by dressing them in custom soccer-themed outfits.

Texas NICU's Tiniest Patients Prepare for the World Cup with Custom Costume
A Texas baby dressed up for the 2026 World Cup.

Texas will be hosting nine World Cup games between June and July, with thousands of soccer fans from around the world expected to come to Arlington and Houston to watch the matches.

In preparation for this historic moment, doctors, nurses and staff wanted to make special moments for the families in their care at Methodist Dallas, Methodist Richardson, Methodist Charlton and Methodist Mansfield Medical Centers.

The care team at the various NICUs dressed their tiniest patients up in outfits resembling multiple aspects of the World Cup. One newborn, named Amari from Methodist Mansfield Medical Center, wore a tiny referee outfit complete with a whistle in his hand.

Newborns Jaxson, Sa’vion and Saira were all swaddled in custom soccer ball-printed blankets, posing on fake greenery. Baby Jaxson from Methodist Richardson Medical Center even posed inside a goal alongside different jerseys from all around the world.

Texas NICU's Tiniest Patients Prepare for the World Cup with Custom Costume
A Texas baby dressed up for the 2026 World Cup.

Olivia and Angel, who are patients at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, were pH๏τographed near a gold replica of the World Cup trophy.

They were both swaddled in gray blankets as they rested on a soccer ball-printed background.

Texas NICU's Tiniest Patients Prepare for the World Cup with Custom Costume
A Texas baby dressed up for the 2026 World Cup.

The nurses at Methodist Mansfield Medical Center dressed baby Benjamin and Alyssa in custom soccer-themed shirts, nodding to the major sports event.