RIVERSIDE, Mo. — The Kansas City area is getting ready to experience the World Cup next year. But some residents are already familiar with the emotions of being on the center stage of international sporting events.
Debinha and Lorena from Brazil, along with Rocky Rodriguez from Costa Rica, are three KC Current team members who have played for their national teams.
They say it’s a dream.
“It's an unmatched, inexplicable emotion,” Lorena, who is currently in Brazil with the national team, said. “It's more than an honor, it's a privilege.”
“It's unlike any other feeling for me,” said Rocky.
She scored Costa Rica's first-ever Women's World Cup goal during the 2015 FIFA World Cup.
“It's the best thing,” said Debinha. “I think playing in a World Cup is the top achievement a player can aspire to.”
They believe it will be a two-way street with Kansas City experiencing the competition and the competition experiencing Kansas City.
“I'm excited not only for the people here to have this experience, but also for the opportunity to see different cultures and everything,” Debinha said.
“It feels like a huge party here, and I think that Kansas City deserves to be one of the hosting cities for that reason,” Rocky said. “Soccer just brings people together.”
Lorena said visitors will be surprised with how strong a following the game has developed in Kansas City.
“People have no idea how passionately soccer is embraced here in KC. I arrived thinking it would be just a fan base, but it's not just a fan base; it's a fan base that breathes soccer,” Lorena said.
For the three players, it will also be a chance to wear their national team jerseys, but this time not as players, but as fans.
“Usually, you have to make plans to go to a World Cup, but the World Cup itself is coming here," Rocky said. "I think that's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I do feel blessed and lucky, you know, because everyone would want to be here.”
KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
