{"id":2564,"date":"2026-06-12T19:34:29","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:34:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2564"},"modified":"2026-06-12T19:34:29","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T19:34:29","slug":"world-cup-watch-parties-bring-communities-together-in-rhode-island","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2564","title":{"rendered":"World Cup watch parties bring communities together in Rhode Island"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>PROVIDENCE \u2014 Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa didn\u2019t mince words Thursday when he described the World Cup parties and teams coming to Rhode Island during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2562\">Judge denies Kennedy Center request for pause in ruling ordering Trump\u2019s name removed from building<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cThat\u2019s a big effin\u2019 deal,\u201d he said during the opening of the PVD Fan Zone in Providence.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Stepping up to the podium, Providence Mayor Brett Smiley joked, \u201cThat\u2019s shorthand for \u2018Big footballin\u2019 deal.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>Following a ribbon cutting and greeting from state and local officials, fans began trickling into Rhode Island\u2019s official World Cup site just after 2 p.m. Thursday to watch Mexico play South Africa in the first game of the tournament.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The city-hosted and FIFA-sanctioned Fan Zone, at Station Park near the State House, was filled with soccer-related games and skill challenges, official merchandise, food trucks, and a main stage with a huge screen showing the World Cup matches.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>While the city has hosted large events in the past, \u201cWe\u2019ve not done them 39 days in a row, and so this is a test of endurance for our team, but we know we are up for the task,\u201d Smiley said in an interview.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Rhode Map<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Fans sat under beach umbrellasin the water-starved grassor gathered under tents. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Jose Fermin of Worcester, Mass., went to the fan zone to watch the opening match. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cYou get to meet a lot of cool people, get to be around cool people,\u201d said Jose Fermin, who came to the Fan Zone from Worcester, Mass., to watch the first game. \u201cI\u2019m not from Mexico, but today I\u2019m supporting Mexico because you get to be around amazing people.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Fermin, who plays soccer at Assumption University, said he hopes Portugal wins the World Cup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCristiano Ronaldo, hope he wins it,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Visitors from around the world turned up to watch the first match, includinga congregation from Scotland, who stood out in their kilts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>At nearby Waterplace Park, a popup gathering spot for House of Portugal fans will feature host former players, who fans can meet, each Sunday. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity for our businesses,\u201d Governor Dan McKee saidduring Thursday\u2019s press conference. He said the state has invested about $500,000 in addition to money raised by Ocean State 2026, a nonprofit established to promote the World Cup in Rhode Island.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cSimply put, the fan zone is going to revolutionize the way Rhode Islanders watch the World Cup,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2560\">Cigars smoked by suspended Ipswich lacrosse players were real, school officials say<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>McKee said he bought a jersey, also known as a kit, at the House of Portugal pop upand had it signed by a Portuguese soccer legend.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI actually got one of the top soccer players in Portuguese history to sign, just like a kid, getting an autograph from Mickey Mantle way back when,\u201d McKee said. \u201cI wear it proudly.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Allan Ritchie, 58, of Scotland, said he has tickets for both of Scotland\u2019s games in Boston as well as their game against Brazil in Miami. He said he and other Scotland fans will be in Providence for about 10 days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cWe originally thought about Boston, but some of the prices in Boston were a bit pricey, and some of the Tartan Army were organized in Providence. So, we\u2019ve ended up here,\u201d he said. He\u2019ll be in the the school bus convoy Tartan fans organized to get to the games at \u201cBoston Stadium\u201d in Foxborough, Mass. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cScottish fans are like no others. You\u2019ll find out in the next few days,\u201d he said. \u201cWe like to win, but if we don\u2019t win, we still celebrate our team&#8230;. I\u2019m sure you\u2019ll hear some great tunes coming when the Scottish fans start.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Rhode Island has prominent Columbian, Guatemalan, Dominican, and Mexican, Portuguese, and Cape Verdean communities. In Central Falls, a Latino-majority city, a special partnership with Telemundo, the Spanish-language TV station, allows city-hosted watch parties to show the World Cup games, according to Mayor Maria Rivera. Telemundo is scheduled to air more than 700 hours of World Cup programming through July 19, when the tournament ends.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cCentral Falls is really not getting a lot of visibility for what we are doing here,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cMy parks and recreation director Mavy Pineda is the one who organized all of this. We got a lot of sponsorships, which raised about $75,000.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>La Casona restaurant in Central Falls was permitted to sell alcohol at the event because it is paying for security and safety details, the mayor said. Other sponsors are helping pay for a kids zone that includes bounce houses and a command center is on site to help people keep people safe and health-related issues. Soccer fans can also pick up special food passports, available only at watch parties, that feature 13 local businesses where fans can collect special stamps. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Central Falls\u2019 first watch party on Thursday afternoon drewhundreds of fansfor the match between Mexico and South Africa. Rivera said theysang, danced, and cheered for Mexico\u2019s national team, nicknamed \u201cEl Tri,\u201d or \u201cThe Tricolor,\u201d a nod to the Mexican flag. Mexico won the match 2-0.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI really didn\u2019t expect the turnout that we had because of the time,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cIt was an early game. The energy was amazing. There were no chairs left for people to sit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The Central Falls watch parties open two hours before scheduled matches, and stays open after each match for music and dancing. Similar to the Providence Fan Zone, big bags, beverages, water, coolers, or weapons of any kind are prohibited. The next watch party is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m., for the match between Brazil and Morocco. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cEverybody is so happy, everyone is interacting for everyone, and we are looking out for each other,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cIt\u2019s the energy of a community coming together and appreciating what we are doing for them. It\u2019s not just about soccer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2559\">Judge rules Trump can stage UFC fights on White House\u2019s South Lawn this weekend<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The PVD Fan Zone, a Team Portugal pop up, and city-run watch parties in Central Falls give fans plenty of options for watching the World Cup together<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>World Cup watch parties bring communities together in Rhode Island - Boston Relocation Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=2564\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World Cup watch parties bring communities together in Rhode Island - 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