Lost passport? This is the spot if you’re visiting KC from abroad for World Cup
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Overland Park Convention Center will serve as a consular services center.
- Appointments will be required via each nation's embassy or consulate website.
- ConnectKC26 and Airport Drop and Ride provide transit access to the convention center.
During the FIFA World Cup, Kansas City’s international feel will permeate more than just the soccer games and team base camps.
The Overland Park Convention Center will be the site of a makeshift consular services center. It will serve as the official assistance and administrative headquarters for visitors from around the globe.
The Kansas City area is bracing for big crowds. That’s to be expected with four group-stage matches here involving seven nations — Argentina, Ecuador, Curacao, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Austria and Algeria — as well as two knockout-round games and base camps for the national squads from Argentina, the Netherlands, England and Algeria.
You just know that somebody will lose their passport.
“This center meets the needs of those fans in a centralized way,” KC2026 CEO Pam Kramer said. “That might take the shape of a lost passport or international document they need, or support during illness. They’ll need a place to go, a place where their consuls are available.”
Fans from Argentina, the defending World Cup champion, and the Netherlands are expected to make up the bulk of international visitors who are likely to remain for longer periods in KC.
Appointments will be required and can be made through a particular nation’s embassy or consulate-services website.
In addition to the participating nations, Kramer said other countries have reached out and are expected to set up consulate services here. Earlier this week, Kramer said Kansas City had received registrations from 125 nations for participation in the FIFA FanFest at the World War I Museum and Memorial.
The OP Convention Center is accessible on the ConnectKC26 bus system from FanFest, with a pass. It also a stop in Johnson County United’s Airport Drop and Ride, so there’s free transportation to and from the airport.
Some bus drivers will be bilingual, Kramer said, and those who aren’t will be equipped with translation apps. Also, bilingual volunteers will be deployed “at critical locations, and it’s really important around FanFest,” Kramer said.
She said she wasn’t sure which of the 15 other host cities in North America were creating a similar service. Many nations have consulate services in the U.S. already. For instance, Mexico has consulates in more than 50 U.S. cities, including Kansas City.
According to embassies.net, some 13 nations are represented with such consulates in Kansas City.