The immigrants who made us a soccer city

By Suzanne Hogan

Published June 25, 2025 at 4:00 AM CDT

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Kansas City is preparing to welcome soccer fans from all around the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s the smallest host city in North America, and has a lot of work left to get ready. But how did we get to this historic moment?

Kansas City may not have embraced the sport at all if not for the immigrants who fought for the beautiful game, back before there were even soccer fields to play on. Suzanne Hogan brings us the first installment of a new mini-series on Kansas City’s soccer history.

This episode of A People's History of Kansas City was reported, produced, and mixed by Suzanne Hogan with editing by Mackenzie Martin and Gabe Rosenberg. This is the first installment of a series leading up to the 2026 World Cup in collaboration with the Great Game Lab at Arizona State University, which explores how sport connects U.S. to the rest of the world.

If you know about a local champion of soccer in Kansas City who helped bring the city to this extraordinary moment, email us at peopleshistorykc@kcur.org