Meet 2 KC teens with ‘once in a lifetime’ chance to appear at World Cup match

The World Cup match on July 3 will have an extra touch of Kansas City when two area teens walk the field before the match.

Alison M. and Joseph B. will be bearing flags as they walk the World Cup field at the Kansas City Stadium for the Colombia vs. Ghana match in the round of 32, thanks to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Kansas City.

This “once in a lifetime opportunity” gives the two a chance to represent their communities, the Boys & Girls Club and Kansas City, and to show their passion for soccer, Joseph said.

“I’m very excited,” Alison said. “It’s going to be an unforgettable experience.”

It’s not every day that kids get to witness internationally renowned teams in their cities, with the same players, celebrities and fans that they’ve witnessed only through the TV, she said.

“I think it’s really cool that we’re going to be at the same place,” she said.

They’re grateful to be walking the field on Friday, representing Kansas City, Alison said.

An opportunity like no other

“It feels good to know that I get to be a part of something like this,” said Joseph. “It only happens every four years, so I’m just going to take this in.”

It’s an opportunity unlike others because, unlike basketball and football, there’s typically less national attention on the sport, but instead an international recognition.

“It’s very different and important in its own way,” said Joseph.

The two, who are going by their first names to protect their privacy, didn’t even know the opportunity was coming their way.

Joseph came home from working out at the gym one day and got the news.

“I got home, and my mom was like, ‘You’re going to be in the World Cup.’ I was like, ‘What?’,” he said.

He didn’t believe what was being told, so much so that he called his youth director from Boys & Girls Club. He was stunned learning it was true, he said.

Alison had a similar reaction.

“I didn’t believe it. I thought it was fake. I was like, ‘They’re not talking about the same World Cup,’” she said.

Her mom confirmed the information for her, and she jumped up from her seat on the couch when she learned and celebrated with pizza after.

The sport in their lives

Soccer is a large part of both their lives. Joseph started playing at 12 years old, and Alison grew up loving the sport, influenced by her family.

“My family has been really big soccer fans, so I’ve always grown up with soccer,” said Alison. “It’s always been a thing in my life.”

She plays for her middle school team as a defender, not letting the ball get past her toward the goal, she said.

Joseph has been playing the sport since he was 12 years old. He also likes watching sports.

“Just watching sports in general and watching how excited those teams get, how excited the fans get, how the crowd is, how loud it is, how excited people get. It makes it feel special,” said Joseph.

Alison has an affinity for the game of soccer because although the sport is competitive, it’s a team-building game, she said.

Kansas City and the World Cup

They’ve witnessed the city welcome the World Cup, an international event that brings one of their favorite sports to the forefront of the country’s attention.

“It’s very exciting to actually get to learn how other people view soccer in their like certain area in the world,” said Joseph. “Everybody’s respecting the tourists that come in, like they’re asking them questions.”

He’s seen it himself: tourists representing their teams with jerseys and hats and others asking to hear the story of how they landed in KC and how their team is doing in the competition, he said.

Alison was able to ask visitors from Ecuador about their story.

“One time we went to McDonald’s, and we saw an Ecuador fan,” she said. “It was really cool how they were telling us that they had traveled from such a long way to come see a game in our town here in Kansas City.”

The fan told her how amazing the city was. She almost had whiplash because out of all the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Kansas City isn’t really well known, she said.

The World Cup coming to the city is special, Joseph said, because it’s giving more attention to local soccer teams like the KC Current or Sporting KC. He’s used to the most popular sports being football and basketball, and “soccer is like a last sport,” he said.

“It’s really cool how they’re embracing it,” Alison said. “You used to just see it in really small places, for me like at home, but now you can see it in the streets. You can see it on billboards and everything.”

Soccer has become more known in the city, and she sees more people playing, including her and her friends, she said.

A huge thanks

The opportunity came about with the help of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Kansas City and the Coca-Cola Future Careers Academy, an online course that teaches event planning, media and broadcast, marketing, leadership, and more.

Joseph thanks Boys & Girls Club for more than just this one-off opportunity. Being a part of the organization has gotten him far and is helping him grow into the person he wants to be in life, he said.

“Boys & Girls Club has helped me actually break out of my comfort zone and actually do things that I actually want to do,” he said.

Alison is appreciative of Boys & Girls Club, too.

“Not only did I become more talkative, more out of my shyness zone; I became like this whole different person,” she said.

She’s gotten many opportunities that she never thought she would have, she said.

“Boys & Girls Club is like a really big part of my community right now, because I’ve seen a lot of people join it,” Alison said. “They understand, and it’s really connected, and everyone is really supportive of you.”