{"id":298415,"date":"2026-06-06T15:03:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/298415\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T15:03:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T15:03:11","slug":"broward-county-prepares-free-watch-parties-among-world-cup-festivities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/298415\/","title":{"rendered":"Broward County prepares free watch parties among World Cup festivities"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUNRISE \u2014 Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens will host 2026 World Cup matches beginning June 15, but the festivities in Broward County will extend far beyond the field. Starting June 12, the World Cup spirit and celebration will be found all over the county with events for the community to participate in, even if they didn\u2019t get their hands on a ticket.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just soccer, it\u2019s our chance to showcase Broward County, our communities, our culture and hospitality to a global audience,\u201d Vice Mayor Robert McKinzie said in a news conference Friday at Amerant Bank Arena. \u201cSoccer is the most watched sport in the world, and for several weeks, the world will be watching us.\u201d<\/p>\n

South Florida will host seven matches in the span of just over a month, the last being the third-place match on July 18. However, that does not mean Broward County is done that day.<\/p>\n

Headlining the festivities are four watch parties sprinkled throughout the World Cup.\u00a0 The parties are free at Amerant Bank Arena, where the games will be shown on the largest TV in Broward County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are thrilled to invite soccer fans into the Panthers\u2019 home,\u201d said Mike White, President of Business Operations for the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n

The watch parties are on June 12 at 9 p.m., as the USA begins play vs. Paraguay; June 27 at 7:30 p.m. with Columbia versus Portugal, a match taking place in Miami Gardens; July 11 at 5 p.m. for a quarterfinal match (also in Miami Gardens), and the last watch party is for the championship match July 19 at 3 p.m.<\/p>\n

Although tickets are free, they must be reserved through Seat Geek or\u00a0 AmerantBankArena.com. Up to six tickets per person can be reserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great opportunity for us to spotlight not only Broward County, but all of the cities that are in between, as we all celebrate the power and the transcendency of the World Cup,\u201d Sunrise Mayor Mike Ryan said.<\/p>\n

Parking for the events is free, but to help residents get to the watch parties, Broward County Transit will provide Park & Ride transportation. One-way fares are $2, but select hubs and locations including Miramar, Sheridan Park and Broward Boulevard allow for free parking with a BCT One-Day Pass.<\/p>\n

The parties offer a chance for South Florida residents to watch the big games with \u201c18,000 of their closest friends,\u201d said Monica Cepero, Broward County Administrator.<\/p>\n

It also presents an affordable option for soccer fans in South Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all of us can afford to go to matches,\u201d Ryan said. \u201cBut families and young children are going to be participating right here in the Amerant Bank Arena and will feel that energy of what it\u2019s like to be part of the World Cup spectacle.\u201d<\/p>\n

The watch parties will have activities for children such as face painting, games and inflatables. The parties will feature food curated to the countries playing in the matches that day, to add to the international flavor.<\/p>\n

\"SomeSome of the food options that will be on the menu at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise during Broward County’s World Cup watch parties. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n

Along with the watch parties, Broward is planning more festivities. The parties start on Saturday <\/a>at Lauderhill Sports Complex at 3 p.m., with live music, food trucks, a soccer tournament and game between youth teams Jamaica U20 and Haiti U20.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, at Central Broward Park and Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill,<\/a> there will be an all-day event starting at noon, with a youth soccer clinic, live performers and soccer matches between Jamaica U20, Miami United, the Caribbean Americas Soccer Association All Stars and more.<\/p>\n

Broward leaders said the positive economic impact of the World Cup on the community and businesses includes teams that are staying in Broward County hotels. Comparing the stimulation of the economy to the affects of the Super Bowl, Cepero said a large benefit to the economy is expected.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking at billions of dollars in regional economic impact,\u201d Cepero said.<\/p>\n

She also noted that the cost of the four watch parties was part of the county commission\u2019s sponsorship of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

From the events, the county hopes to benefit economically and from a community standpoint and garner national attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is truly a once in a generation opportunity to showcase our Broward County community on a global stage,\u201d McKinzie said. \u201cThe theme of the 2026 World Cup is \u2018one game one passion.\u2019 We are very passionate here in Broward county and we hope that everyone participates in the world cup events.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff writer Ruth Abramovitz contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\"BrowardBroward County Vice Mayor Robert McKinzie talks during a news conference at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, on Friday to announce Broward County’s World Cup watch parties. (Mike Stocker\/South Florida Sun Sentinel)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SUNRISE \u2014 Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens will host 2026 World Cup matches beginning June 15, but…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":298416,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[249,251,250,2062,110,24215],"class_list":["post-298415","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298415","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=298415"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/298415\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/298416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=298415"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=298415"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=298415"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}