World Cup isn’t only for cities like KC. How college towns have played role, too
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Algeria’s World Cup win over Jordan sparked celebrations in Algiers and Lawrence.
- KU marching band played the Algerian anthem and a giant Algerian flag was created.
- Lawrence mayor said college towns can enthusiastically embrace World Cup teams.
Algeria’s victory over Jordan in its second group-stage game of the 2026 FIFA World Cup was met with cheers in Algiers ... and Lawrence, Kansas.
The bond between the soccer team from North Africa and town that’s home to the University of Kansas grew tighter this week with Algeria’s success. The chances that the team could remain alive beyond the group stage were on the rise.
From the KU marching band learning to play the Algerian anthem to a giant Algerian flag created from mulch and sand, the friendship has been a feel-good and unlikely story of the FIFA World Cup
It may also speak to something else unexpected when North America and the U.S. were awarded these games: College towns love soccer, too. And you don’t have to be a major metropolitan area to embrace the World Cup.
“In Lawrence we know about sports, we know about champs, we know about mascots and cheering,” said Lawrence mayor Brad Finkeldei, “and we’ve been able to embrace the Algerians in that manner.”
The first 48-team World Cup is being played in 16 cities across three nations, and Kansas City, with a metropolitan population of 2.3 million, is the smallest among the 11 U.S. sites.
But it’s considerably larger than Lawrence, about 40 miles away from KC, and other college towns like College Station, Texas, and Auburn, Alabama.
In friendlies, or exhibition games, at SEC football stadiums in early June, Argentina played Honduras before 91,102 at Kyle Field, home of Texas A&M.
A few days later, Argentina and Iceland played before 88,043 at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, a match complete with a “War Eagle” chant to begin the game.
There was clearly an obsession with superstar Lionel Messi in those matches — he appeared in the game at Auburn but not at A&M while recovering from a hamstring strain — but the sports are relatable in other ways.
Devoted fanbases passionately support club and national soccer teams, just like big-time college football programs. Argentina turned Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium sky blue in one group-stage game; a few days later Ecuador made it a sea of yellow.
Netherlands, with its orange-clad fans, plays Tunisia on Thursday — and the stadium figures to look like a Tennessee game.
All that’s been missing are the marching bands and tailgating. The latter is allowed for World Cup matches at Arrowhead, but tailgating hasn’t been part of the pre-game parking lot scene quite like it is for a Chiefs game. Limited parking with fans arriving by buses and ride-shares likely has played a role.
Still, the massive crowds and pageantry are reminiscent of an emotional college football Saturday.
Geoff Freeman, president of CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, said he marveled at the coverage and social media posts those Argentina friendlies in the South received.
“To follow what the foreign travelers were saying, that they were blown away by the number of stadiums we have, the size of the stadiums, the experiences at the stadiums, the passion of the American sports culture,” Freeman said. “In retrospect, we’re like, ‘Why didn’t we see this coming?’”
College sports, with large athletic department budgets, major television contracts and stadiums that in some cases could fit the town’s population, don’t exist outside the U.S. Internationally, education and sports are separated, with talented, young athletes entering club academies — or attending a U.S. university — in order to compete.
In the U.S., college facilities can be top-notch, serving as recruiting tools. In the case of the World Cup, those facilities didn’t lure athletes, but teams.
One of the first to announce its base camp destination was Germany, which didn’t select a training site from FIFA’s announced list. Instead, the Germans picked Wake Forest.
In all, 13 nations chose U.S. colleges for base camps, from Rutgers (Senegal) to Gonzaga (Egypt). Several other universities, such as North Carolina, St. Louis University, Boise State and Oklahoma, also threw their hats in the ring.
Algeria picked Lawrence mainly because the team had two matches scheduled in Kansas City: the opener against Argentina (a 3-0 loss) and Saturday’s match against Austria.
The Algerians have found in Lawrence a welcoming community, one that has become an ideal fit few saw coming.
“It speaks to how we sometimes take things for granted,” Freeman said. “Some of the things that I think make the United States incredible, the scale in which we do events, the passion we have for our sports, the way which in which we focus on hospitality and the experience.”
Not just in the cities, but in the college towns, too.