Ecuador fans rally at KC Fan Fest ahead of match on Saturday “¡Vamos vamos tricolor!”
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Ecuador yellow filled the FIFA Fan Fest on Friday ahead of Saturday's match.
- Several hundred fans held a banderazo, chanting “sí se puede” and “¡vamos vamos tricolor!”
- Curaçao had a smaller presence, but fans traveled to Kansas City to support their team.
Ecuador yellow filled the FIFA Fan Fest on Friday ahead of the team’s match against Curaçao at Arrowhead on Saturday.
“It means everything, honestly,” said Pablo Lopez, who was born in Ecuador and raised in Chicago. “Soccer is such a pivotal sport, it’s just like a religion in Ecuador.”
Fans were ready for a comeback after a 1-0 loss to the Ivory Coast last Sunday. Outside of Fan Fest, a group splintered off to hold a banderazo, a mass gathering of soccer fans.
Over drums several hundred fans belted out “Sí se puede!” and “¡Vamos vamos tricolor!”
Inside the festival between sets by hip hop artist Flo Rida, Tech N9ne and DJ Mal-Ski, fans shared their pride in the team and country.
“We (as a people, are) very warm, we came to create a community very fast,” said David Nicolalde, a fan from Oregon who is following the team around the country for its first three matches.
“Here around us, the people are very welcoming. We identify very well with our colors. So we’re very happy to be here,” Nicolalde said.
Jorge Bajaña, from Ecuador, said the nation is rallying around the team and hoping for a strong performance against Curaçao on Saturday and against Germany on June 25.
“The community came out to support Ecuador, to go all out so the people can, well, the players can see that the community has their back,” Bajaña said in Spanish. “The team has the support to show up tomorrow and win, or at least play with that passion and win, so that we also stay strong against Germany.”
The South American nation’s opponent, the small island nation of Curaçao, had a smaller presence at the festivities on Friday, but fans still showed up to support their team.
Kimberly Martis traveled from Curaçao to Kansas City to watch Saturday’s game in celebration of her island. For her, attending Ecuador’s El Banderazo event was a chance to represent her nation — and she was not the only Curaçao fan in the crowd, with many cheering loudly when singer Flo Rida shouted out the country from the stage.
“(Ecuador fans) don’t intimidate us,” Martis said. “We are small, but big and heard.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 9:02 PM.
