OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — Kansas City is showing FIFA delegation members why the 2026 FIFA World Cup should come to the Midwest. Youth coaches and parents believe the soccer scene in the metro area shows support for the sport is strong.
“'Soccer Town, USA' is what I would call it," coach Tom Mura said. “It just comes from something that people were interested in becoming a passion.”
Mura said he has seen love for soccer evolve in his roughly 30 years in the sport.
The passion is strong in Julie Weinrich's family. She said her husband played growing up and passed down the love for soccer to their children.
Weinrich works with Sporting Blue Valley and said she can see the excitement soccer brings to other young people.
“The kids seem to love it. There’s so many aspects to it, whether they’re playing or watching and I just think soccer it’s really for anybody,” she said.
As FIFA considers Kansas City to be a host city for the 2026 World Cup, Mura said he believes exposure to the sport to young local soccer players would create greater appreciation.
“When they see it on TV, it’s like detached from them. But when they see it in person, they can see themselves doing it," Mura said.
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