KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Former Sporting Kansas City All-Star centerback Matt Besler is synonymous with soccer in his hometown, so naturally, he’s thrilled to be welcoming the FIFA World Cup to KC next year.
But before Besler, a 2005 Blue Valley West graduate, became a four-time MLS All-Star with Sporting Kansas City and started for games for the U.S. Men’s National Team at the 2014 World Cup, the idea of soccer’s biggest spectacle in his hometown seemed unfathomable.
“There's a lot of things that I couldn't have dreamed of that have happened and that are going to happen,” Besler said. “It’s a testament to a lot of different people who have helped pave the way and make this happen, and it's an exciting time to be a soccer fan in Kansas City.
Besler, who will be inducted Saturday as a Sporting Legend, enjoyed a storied MLS career — helping Sporting KC win the 2013 MLS Cup and hoist the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup three times (2012, 2015, 2017) — but playing in the World Cup will always be special, especially for a humble Kansas City kid.
“Going through the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, my name was always attached with Kansas City, and it was always attached with being the first player to ever represent the state of Kansas in a World Cup,” Besler said. “I loved that, I embraced it and, still to this day, it's one of the most proud things that has happened to me as a soccer player.”
Besler exudes the familiar Kansas City pride of most of its natives, so he’s eager to show off KC to the world next summer.
“Nobody's ever experienced this in their lifetime, having a World Cup in Kansas City, and I’m not sure if we'll ever get to do that again,” he said. “It's this once-in-a-lifetime experience and, for Kansas City, it's a chance for us to show what we're about on a world stage — who we are as people and what our city is about. We're going to be having people from all over the world, different cultures, come to our city and spend extended periods of time in our city. Again, that doesn't happen every day, so it's going to be unique.”
Besler is a perfect ambassador for Kansas City and its soccer scene.
“I always have Kansas City in my mind, and I always felt like I was representing something bigger than myself — the people of Kansas City and the pride that we have for our city,” Besler said. “I think that's what makes this place so special, so it was easy for me because that's what I grew up with. And it was easy for me to have that feeling and understand it, because it's been with me my entire life.”
It’s made him the face of Kansas City soccer, as a player and now in retirement.
“We always joke that he was Mr. Kansas City,” Sporting KC forward Daniel Salloi said, “but that's who you want to be when you play in this club and this city.”
Besler’s contributions as a player were key as Kansas City emerged as “the Soccer capital of America.”
“We felt like we were building something special,” he said. “At the time, you don't really know what you're building, but we certainly were aware that we were starting something, and we were on the ground level, and we were really putting a lot of work into building something.”
It has culminated with hosting six games in the FIFA World Cup 2026 next summer, giving Besler another reason to celebrate his Kansas City roots.
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KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County. Share your story idea with Tod.
