World Cup watch parties bring Wichita community together

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - The FIFA World Cup officially kicked off Wednesday, drawing crowds to Naftzger Park for watch parties celebrating the tournament.

The event comes as the U.S. serves as one of the host nations for the World Cup, which takes place every four years.

People gathered at the park to watch games and celebrate different cultures represented in the tournament.

“USA to Mexico to South Korea, there’s so many different ways we can see culture coming together over a sport and learning about one another,” said Evan Long, who attended the watch party.

Cultural celebration

Ariel Rodriguez, executive director of Empower, said events like the World Cup provide opportunities for communities to unite.

“Something like a world cup, right, we can come together over sports and see the different cultures represented and its a time about learning about each other,” Rodriguez said.

Nate Nailor said the gathering was good for the community.

“I think it’s good for the community to come together to watch the game together,” Nailor said.

Dario Triana said the World Cup provides something for families to look forward to.

“The World cup happens every four years so it’s something very good to look forward to for the kids, for the families, to give back to the community,” Triana said.

Growing the sport

Organizers said the watch parties aim to grow the sport and bring people together.

“We think this is a great time to get people out to celebrate a sport that they may not know about or people who are enthusiasts, it’s a great time just to learn more about some of the cultural representations with the different games that are going on,” Rodriguez said.

Attendees cheered for various teams, including Mexico, Portugal and Argentina.

The watch party at Naftzger Park continues until 11 p.m. Wednesday and resumes at 11 a.m. Thursday ahead of the U.S. team’s first game against Paraguay.