The D.C. region may have been shut out of hosting matches in the FIFA men’s World Cup this summer, but it still plans to celebrate soccer’s biggest tournament.
Major League Soccer club D.C. United will host free watch parties, showing 14 selected matches across two weekends. The live viewing events will take place June 12-14 at Franklin Park in Downtown D.C. and June 19-21 at Navy Yard’s Tingey Plaza.
“This is the world’s biggest sporting event, and we want residents and visitors to come out and enjoy,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a news conference Friday.
Called “Soccer Celebrations,” the first watch party will feature the United States men’s national team’s first group play match against Paraguay at 9 p.m. in Franklin Park. A schedule of matches and instructions for registering for free tickets can be found
Along with large viewing parties, the events will also feature youth soccer activities, music and local food vendors. All the games will be shown in English, a D.C. United spokesperson told 草莓传媒.
“Washington, D.C. has long been a place for the global game of soccer,” D.C. United President of Business Operations Danita Johnson said. “Being one of the founding clubs in Major League Soccer, we take so much pride in the global game.”
Gerren Price, president and CEO of the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, told 草莓传媒 when D.C. United approached the idea of a watch party, it was “a no-brainer” to include Franklin Park.
DowntownDC, the Navy Yard business improvement district and the team are covering the costs and bringing in sponsors to help support the events.
“Look, we have space for almost 10,000 people, so please come one, come all,” DowntownDC’s Lukas Umana said.
In 2022, FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, passed on a joint bid by D.C. and Baltimore to host games for the 2026 tournament. The combined bid had Baltimore’s M&T Bank Stadium as the key venue for matches, with the National Mall hosting fan festivities.
When asked about the lack of matches in D.C., Bowser acknowledged the failed bid, stating, “We tried, and so I think that we won’t be dealing with this question, we hope, when the women’s World Cup is here, because we’re going to have a new facility where they can play.”
In the meantime, Bowser said the idea of having watch parties in the heart of D.C. is “brilliant.”
“Sometimes, the organizers and leagues need to see fandom in action, and this is a good way to do it,” Bowser said. “And to make sure we have official events, they’re well attended, they’re well organized, well executed. That is just another feather in our cap for the next time around.”
Former D.C. United striker Alecko Eskandarian called the growth of the sport “monumental” since growing up through the 1994 tournament.
Now, watching his former team get involved in setting up watch parties shows what a “great opportunity” it is to get more support for the sport, while giving soccer fans a place to watch matches.
“I think the watch parties are going to be where it’s at,” Eskandarian said. “People are going to come together, they’re going to watch, they’re going to smile, enjoy, they’re going to cry when their teams lose, but most importantly, get to experience the beautiful game.”
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