On and off the pitch, soccer’s biggest stage has seen the world celebrate and embrace humanity and community… at a time when we all really need it.
The beautiful game has been inspiring some equally beautiful displays of community, humanity, and multiculturalism — and we’re not even out of the group stage yet.
Read some inspiring moments from the 2026 World Cup so far
After being embraced by the community, Scottish fans donated nearly $30k to local providence charities
Images: Providence Tartan Army/Instagram (both)
Fans donated to express their gratitude for the city’s hospitality, and one of the largest donations was $10,000 to a local children’s hospital’s cancer unit.
Boston and Glasgow, Scotland even became sister cities after fans formed a special bond.
Three women became the first all-American, all-women officiating crew at the men’s World Cup
Image: Concacaf/Instagram
Tori Penso, Brooke Mayo, and Kathryn Nesbitt officiated the group-stage match between Czech Republic and South Africa.
Penso also refereed the final of the women’s World Cup in 2023, the first American to do so.
Suzanne Huurman made history as the only woman team doctor at the 2026 World Cup
Image: @ninelifestyle via Suzanne Huurman/Instagram
Head of the medical staff for Curaçao’s men’s national team, Huurman is also the third-ever female team doctor in the 96-year history of the tournament.
Curaçao, the smallest country to ever reach the World Cup, also scored its first-ever World Cup goal against Germany.
The Iranian national team left a message of gratitude to LA for World Cup hospitality
Image: @ffirimedia/Telegram
Another player thanked the people of Mexico for welcoming the team after it was forced to relocate its training camp from Tucson, Arizona.
The team has been based in Tijuana and commuting to matched in the U.S. due to travel restrictions the team says has led to unfair challenges that no other team is facing.
Residents of Lawrence, Kansas, went all-out to welcome Algeria’s national team to the city
Image: KU School of Music/Instagram
Thousands of residents of the college town attended an open practice, where the University of Kansas’s band played the Algerian national anthem for the team.
The story of Lawrence, Kansas embracing the Algerian team has been, perhaps, the story of the World Cup so far — with thousands welcoming them from the literal moment their bus arrived in town.
A world-renowned crop artist created a quarter-acre-sized art installation of the Algerian flag
Image: KU School of Music/Instagram
Some say Lawrence, Kansas local Stan Herd’s artwork could be the largest Algerian flag in the world.
Despite having the necessary papers, a Somali referee was denied entry to the US — then Canada invited him to officiate there
Image: Omar Artan/Instagram
Omar Abdulkadir Artan was named Africa’s best men’s referee last year and was set to become the first from his country to officiate the World Cup.
So far, Arten has not made it to Canada for any matches, but he was given a hero’s welcome when he returned to Somalia.
Ahead of the World Cup, soccer players around the world broke a Guinness World Record while raising funds to upgrade local fields
More than 5,000 people across 50 cities participated in the event, which highlighted the impact of climate change on the sport.
While the pros have access to resources to mitigate the impacts of climate change on their play, local fields and young players are more exposed. This effort aims to change that.
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani created 50 car-free ‘soccer streets’ for the World Cup — mostly near schools
Image: @nycmayor/Instagram
Dozens of city streets have gone car-free to host youth soccer clinics, art stations, and block parties.
“We want every kid in this city to experience the joy of the game,” said NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, announcing the initiative. “Soccer Streets takes that energy directly into our neighborhoods — closing streets to cars, opening them to play and making sure this celebration isn’t reserved for people who can afford a ticket. … These activations are another step toward bringing the World Cup to our city’s young people.”
The New York City metro area is host to eight World Cup matches this summer. The city’s Soccer Streets activations will “pop up” in different neighborhoods until public schools go on summer break on June 26.
