KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland, including Liberty. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Around 3,500 volunteers will be welcoming soccer fans from all over the world to Kansas City this summer.
As the FIFA 2026 World Cup Fan Fest opens on Thursday, many volunteers are starting their shifts.
While many are from Kansas and Missouri, 28 states are represented — and even other countries.
Ana Paula Langston is one of them. She has called Kansas City home for four years, but growing up in Brazil, soccer was a big part of her life.
“I still can’t believe it; it’s so cool,” she said. “I was raised watching football every Sunday with my parents.”
So the opportunity to volunteer at the World Cup means a lot to her.
“It’s something that represents my family too,” she said. “Football represents a connection among people all over the world.”
Like Ana Paula, 6% of the volunteers are from other countries. Around 50% of all volunteers speak more than one language.
The 3,500 volunteers were selected from a pool of 16,000 applicants. Lori Thomas is the director of volunteers.
“All we keep hearing is, ‘I just can’t wait to welcome the world and show what Kansas City is about,’” Thomas said. “Volunteers are the heartbeat; they’re the soul of everything.”
Thomas continued, “We are going to be Disneyland. We are going to be that welcoming. We are going to be happy and joyful. We can’t do it without them.”
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