Ecuador fans stop by Royals game ahead of World Cup match, rave about The K
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas City International had 23,493 departing passengers on Wednesday, its busiest.
- Three Ecuadorian fans from Quito attended the Royals game carrying their national flag.
- Ecuadorian fans at Kauffman Stadium criticized their national team coach as "bad.".
Kansas City International Airport reported its second-busiest day of outbound traffic ever on Wednesday, with 23,493 people on departing flights.
It’s another way the World Cup has affected Kansas City.
Aerolineas Argentinas had a charter flight depart the city, as happy Lionel Messi fans headed home or to the team’s next game.
“Yesterday’s record-setting passenger traffic, MCI’s busiest Wednesday in its 54-year history, is a testament to the world’s interest in Kansas City,” Justin Meyer, Deputy Director of Aviation, said in a news release. “The Aviation Department is proud of its strong partnerships that made yesterday’s passenger experience so positive, including airlines who added additional flights, security partners who brought in additional staff, and other vendors who helped Kansas City put its best foot forward.”
But the next wave of fans began arriving Thursday ahead of the Ecuador-Curaçao match at Kansas City (Arrowhead) Stadium on Saturday.
That included three Ecuadorian fans who stopped by Kauffman Stadium to see the Royals thump the Cardinals 14-6. Patricio, Andrés and Xavier brought their country’s flag with them to The K on Thursday.
The trio hails from Quito, which is the capital of Ecuador. I spotted them because Patricio was wearing the distinctive yellow jersey of the Ecuador soccer team — and I decided to chat with them.
There was a language gap, but we were able to communicate a bit, and one thing was made clear: They were impressed with Kauffman Stadium.
“It’s awesome,” Andrés said. “This stadium is so big and awesome.”
Turning to soccer, the fans are certain that Ecuador will win Saturday against Curaçao. I asked why they were so confident, and they said the players are excellent. I noted that the players lost 1-0 to Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in their opening match of the World Cup.
“The players are very good,” said Patricio, “but the coach, he is very bad.”
All three then said in unison: “The coach is bad.”
Little did they know, but someone with the power to do something about Ecuador’s coach also was at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals said Nicolás Solines, the Secretary General of the Ecuadorian Football Federation, attended the Thursday baseballgame.
Alas, he was not available for an interview.
This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 9:51 AM.
