If you haven't heard yet, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway in cities across North America right now, and American fans are reveling in the global game like never before. Ozarks at Large's Daniel Caruth takes us to one fan zone closer to home.
It's early evening and the sun is just starting to dip behind tree tops at Luther George Park in Springdale, but the festivities are just getting underway on this breezy June night. A steady wave of people are hauling lawn chairs, picnic blankets and coolers of snacks as they begin to mass in front of a 20-foot LED screen set up on the park's bandstand, while the sounds of Telemundo pour out of two loudspeakers.
Alex Mendoza is kitted out in the classic blue and white Argentina jersey as he takes his seat on the lawn.
"I just came to watch the Argentina game, the GOAT Messi is playing today trying to win his second World Cup."
Tonight is the watch party for the World Cup match between Algeria and Argentina, and nearly 100 people are crowding this park in Springdale on a Tuesday night to experience it in person, including Laura Edwards and her son Ethan, who's also sporting a Lionel Messi jersey.
"I think my favorite thing about the World Cup is that it's such a community experience and there's fans from all over. Even in Springdale, there's people from all over, all backgrounds coming, just watching together, cheering together makes it even more exciting. Probably our favorite family activity. We play soccer together. We watch soccer together. We talk about soccer together. So big soccer family."
These watch parties, which will show all of the matches to the community for free, are put on by Downtown Springdale and are the brainchild of the director of events, Nando Garcia.
"Well, thankfully, we've got a lot of support from the city. They've trusted us with our programming and planned building this. And so from the jump, they've been in support. And really it's been — we partnered with Parks and Rec, the Springdale Parks and Rec, to make this happen. And it's been to their great support and partnership, we've been able to plan out marketing and getting the word out about it, but really just a lot of great effort behind the scenes. And then the licensing was something working with FIFA, they've been gracious enough to recognize the impact that we were hoping to have from this. And so they were super lenient and gave us the whole tournament. And it was super, super generous of them. And they pretty much said, hey, we see your vision, we see your heart, and we'd love for you guys to feature the entire tournament, no strings attached."
He says these watch parties for Springdale, which has a 42% Hispanic population, are more than just soccer.
"There's a lot of depth behind just the reality of the Latin community feeling safe to come out and be a community and feel connected and not feeling like they got to stay at home and not be invited into an institution that is like a downtown, like a city entity, and creating environments that are welcoming. But also it's not just the Latin community, it's all the countries. There's a bunch of Algerians here tonight. And so that's what's so beautiful, naturally, about the World Cup, is just really bringing all the communities, cultures together. And there's so many in Northeast Arkansas, so it makes it really incredible. But really bringing them to the same space, watching the same game is such a great concept. This is our front room, pretty much our living room. We're watching the same TV. I invited all of our friends over. That's really what it looks like right now."
Before the match starts, David Mendoza picks a spot near the center of the lawn and settles in with his wife and son. He says while he couldn't afford a ticket to travel to tonight's match in Kansas City, having his town come together around soccer is something he didn't expect.
"Because it's the first time ever I see them do something like this. And we decided to — it could be a cool experience because it's the sport I've been playing ever since I have memory, since I was a little boy in El Salvador. And then when my firstborn was born, I had him in the soccer fields cheering on me before he was a year old. And now he has a love for the sport as well. So I don't know, it's a passion. It's a different type of love that I love to transmit to my kids and my family."
Luther George Park will continue to host more watch parties throughout the summer leading up to the final on July 19, and Nando Garcia says everyone is welcome.
"Man, just — it's free. There's no strings attached. Come out and just be a community. Bring food, buy food while you're here, and just enjoy each other and recognize the people watching beside you or dislike you. They have the same heartbeat. They love and care for their family just as much as you do. And so why not be one family together."
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline and edited for length and clarity. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
