BBC:
“I never imagined the World Cup coming to my city,” says Héctor Solorio, who has lived in Kansas City for 26 years and supports the local Major League Soccer team, Sporting Kansas City.
Hector is thrilled to welcome the world to Kansas City and prove that it’s a football city of global renown – even if he doesn’t truly believe the US Men’s National Team can achieve much in the tournament.
“I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said fellow Kansas City resident Alejandro Cabero when asked by the BBC how he felt about his city hosting some matches.
“When I came here there was no soccer around. The KC Wizards [Sporting’s previous name] had fewer than 3,000 fans. It’s amazing.”
Located on the banks of the Missouri River in the heartland of the United States, the Kansas City metropolitan area – which straddles the state border between both Kansas and Missouri – is home to roughly 2.5 million people, making it one of this tournament’s smallest host cities.
It may not be in the top 30 largest metro areas in the US but it has an outsized influence in sporting terms. It’s home to the most dominant NFL team in recent years, the Kansas City Chiefs, and hosts premier sporting events like the Big 12 college basketball tournament.
It will host six World Cup soccer matches, including a round-of-32 match and a quarter-final. Four nations – Algeria, world champions Argentina, England and the Netherlands – will base themselves in the area.
City, state, and tournament officials see the World Cup as an opportunity to show the world what the region has to offer.
“We’re a city that has always punched above our weight in barbecue, in African American music, in sports, in the warmth of our people,” Kansas City, Missouri, Mayor Quinton Lucas told the BBC. “This summer is our chance to share that with the world on the biggest possible stage.”
Local anticipation is building. Solorio plans to get a ticket to attend the Argentina v Algeria match on 16 June, while Cabero will be organising a typical Argentinian banderazo – a pre-game street party – the day before.
Cabero owns a local empanada manufacturing business, and said he was preparing food for about 600 people but he expects as many as 10,000 people.
The planned banderazo is a taste of the excitement brewing in the city ahead of the World Cup. Mexico City may be hosting the opener of this summer’s tournament, and New York will host the final – but Kansas City is set to play a key role of its own.
Ahead of the arrival of football fans from across the planet, Cabero is far from the only local business owner hard at work in planning for a huge influx of visitors.
