MIAMI.- He North America World Cup is about to begin, but in the streets of Miami it’s barely noticeable. Here impatience is palpable in the daily life of the large Latin community: in the groups of WhatsAppgames between friends or children’s soccer training.
From the outside, the Florida city, where seven out of 10 residents are Latino, receives the biggest sporting event of the year as if on tiptoe. So much so that it does not seem that it will host four group matches and three knockout matches, including the third place game.
For Rafael Calvoa 50-year-old Colombian, “anxious” for the World Cup to begin, which starts in two weeks, Miami has not yet invested enough in promotion.
“I was expecting the atmosphere as a superbowl which, a month or two before, is already on. “I see him as very weak,” he says while watching his 11-year-old son train at an academy in Atlético de Madrid in Doralnear Miami.
An opinion shared by Genesis Garridoformer professional player in Venezuelawho runs the women’s soccer school Big Potential Training.
“I expected a little more atmosphere. I haven’t seen almost anything from the World Cup in the city, neither posters nor decorations. I think they should better introduce one of the most important events in the world,” says the 29-year-old coach.
“The atmosphere is more in the community of soccer players, of people related to soccer, than in the city itself,” he adds.
A different passion
In Revo Soccera space that rents covered courts in Doral, the pre-World Cup fervor is noticeable.
One Sunday morning, Marcos Daniel Quintana26 years old, disputes with work colleagues a match that seems to be life or death. Five against five. Here you shout, you sprint and you put your leg in.
At the end, Quintana, who is wearing the shirt of his idol’s Portuguese team, Cristiano Ronaldosmiles satisfied with his team’s victory. “I’m very impatient for the World Cup to start, I’m really looking forward to it,” says this Cuban living in Miami.
His feeling is that of many Latinos, like the Argentinian Juan Puginsoccer coach at the Revo Soccer academy.
As the World Cup approaches, he has seen field reservations increase and children ask more and more about stamp albums Panini of the competition.
“The Latino lives this sport with a different passion than that experienced elsewhere, especially more than the American,” says Pugín, 25 years old. “The Latino is crazy about soccer. He lives and breathes for soccer.”
According to him, that passion became more visible in Miami after the arrival of the Argentine superstar. Lionel Messi to the city team in 2023, a revolution for the MLSthe North American soccer league.
The price obstacle
For many, however, the party will be incomplete as it cannot be held in stadiums due to high ticket prices.
“We are very excited to experience the World Cup here, but also a little sad because the tickets are too expensive. I am not going to go to any game,” Garrido laments.
Calvo, for his part, would like to take his two children to the Colombia-Portugal in Miami, but, with prices of a minimum of $2,500 per ticket in mid-May, he has given up the dream of seeing his team in the World Cup.
Instead, it will go to Saudi Arabia-Uruguay on June 15, for which he has found income of just over $300. “I’ve never been to a World Cup, so to make the ‘bucket list’ thing (list of things to do in your life) I’m going to that game,” he explains.
Garrido also has plans: to bring together the girls from his academy to watch the games and to welcome fans from other countries who want to take their daughters to train during the tournament. “It’s going to be a nice exchange of cultures,” he says.
