soccer

Organizers of a "Thank You Lawrence" party say they hope for annual celebrations after the city hosted the Algerian men's national soccer team during the FIFA World Cup this summer.

World Cup fever has reignited former high school athletes' interest in playing soccer themselves.

The World Cup has come and gone in Kansas City. What could the city's success as a host city mean for future events?

It'll be a while before we get a complete picture of how the 2026 FIFA World Cup benefits Kansas City long-term. But if this truly is Soccer Capital of the U.S., now is the moment to prove it: Both Sporting KC and the KC Current are resuming their regular seasons with home games in the next week.

Kansas City opened its doors to thousands of international visitors during the World Cup. What kind of impressions did we make?

The United States, Mexico, and Canada co-hosted the nearly six-week tournament. NPR's team of journalists who covered the World Cup reflects on the experience.

During Kansas City’s time co-hosting the FIFA World Cup, more than 400,000 fans from more than 170 different countries attended matches or the Fan Festival. Some of those visitors from other countries shared their impressions with the National WWI Museum and Memorial.

By winning Sunday, the Spanish football federation has made history as the first to bring home successive World Cup championships on the men's and women's side in the history of the tournament.

England will face France on Saturday for the third-place trophy, while Argentina takes on Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday. Although Kansas City's FIFA Fan Festival has closed, the metro has plenty of other watch parties for fans to join.

Argentina, who have been based in Kansas City for the entire World Cup, survived another heart-stopping match when it scored two late goals to topple England. The returning champions will face Spain in the final on Sunday.

The World Cup's arrival in the Midwest has driven an interest in soccer that cuts across generations. In Lawrence, Kansas, the local parks and recreation department is channeling that enthusiasm into weekly games of walking soccer, a slowed-down version of the sport that's more accessible to older adults.

We're at the final stretch of the World Cup. It feels like just yesterday, international fans were arriving in the U.S. and marveling at Buc-ee's and unlimited free soda.