In a small city in the state of Kansas, a World Cup love story has started.
Algeria have made Lawrence their home for the tournament – and the city has been taken over by national flags.
“When we found out that Algeria was coming here in February, we started preparations to make sure they knew they were going to be welcome,” said Ruth DeWitt – director of community relations at the city’s tourism bureau, Explore Lawrence.
“And Lawrence has just rolled out the red carpet for the team in so many different ways. We are so happy that they chose Lawrence as their base camp. We’ve never had anything like this here before so we are just thrilled that they’re here.”
Before the team arrived, the city – which has a population of about 100,000 – held ‘Soccer 101’ classes teaching locals the rules of football along with lessons about Algeria and fan culture.
The players were welcomed by hundreds of fans as they pulled into the city, with even more filling Rock Chalk Park for the team’s community training session, when players interacted with local children.
And with Algerian communities based just outside of Kansas City in neighbouring Missouri – about 40 miles from Lawrence – there are visitors travelling to the region daily hoping to get a glimpse of their heroes.
Alongside her regular work in the town, DeWitt has taken Algeria supporter Wassini Souarit, who lives in Minneapolis, into her home for the tournament.
“I think it’s part of who Lawrence is to begin with,” she said. “But then there were so many challenges for Algerians to travel here and we just adopted them as our home team.
“And of course we’re rooting for the USA, but we’re rooting for Algeria just as much because we are so happy that they chose Lawrence as their base camp.
“That’s exactly what the World Cup is about. That’s what people told us the World Cup is about. And so you sort of think ‘that’s right’, but until you experience it for yourself, you have absolutely no idea how powerful that connection really is.”
