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Months after the 2026 FIFA World Cup concluded, the relationship between Lawrence, Kansas, and Algeria is only getting stronger.
Lawrence served as a base camp for Algeria's men's national team during the World Cup, with the team practicing at Rock Chalk Park and staying at the town's DoubleTree by Hilton.
RELATED | The unique love story between Lawrence and Algeria that formed during the World Cup
In October, several Lawrence community members received an invitation from the Algerian Embassy in Washington D.C. for a five-day trip with travel expenses covered. According to the city's spokesperson, 36 people accepted the invite.
Dubbed a “love story,” the relationship that formed between Lawrence and Algeria during the World Cup gained international attention.
“Everybody here in Lawrence is good to go, and now it’s just Sunday morning, middle of the night, we’re going to hop on a bus to make it to KCI, have a good 18, 19, 20-hour travel day to make it to Algiers," Chris Neverve, manager of the Red Lyon Tavern in Lawrence, said.
Neverve was one of the Lawrence community members to receive a letter.
“Your engagement and warm welcome to both Algeria’s National Football Team and Algerian fans during the FIFA World Cup in Lawrence, Kansas, contributed meaningfully to strengthening ties between our communities and the friendship between Algeria and the United States," he read from the letter.
Neverve hosted several World Cup watch parties at the Red Lyon Tavern, including a halal-style watch party out of respect to Algeria's predominantly Islamic culture.
“I’ve never thought in my life I’d be invited to go visit another country by their government," he said. "It’s such a humbling and exciting invitation.”
Ruth DeWitt with Score Lawrence helped lead World Cup preparations in the years leading up to the event and while Algeria was in town. She also received an invite.
“We just have this incredible friendship that came out of hosting the team, hosting the fans, hosting the families," she said. "We are just so excited to be their guests.”
Invitees will leave on Sunday and return Nov. 15.
"This visit would offer an opportunity to build on this momentum by engaging directly with counterparts in Algeria and discussing potential areas of cooperation, including trade and investment, tourism, culture, education and people-to-people relations," the letter to Neverve reads.
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