World Cup Brings Celebrations, Mixed Emotions for Bay Area Immigrant Communities

From watch parties like that at KAYMA to protests outside stadiums, diaspora communities across the Bay Area are coming together around the World Cup.

This year’s tournament is bigger than ever before, with 48 national teams — up from 32 in the 2022 tournament — and 104 games spread out across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

While ticket sales and hotel bookings have fallen short of expectations for international travelers coming for the games, it’s been a moment of celebration for many people from immigrant backgrounds watching their favorite teams play so close to their homes in the Bay Area.

“My whole family is in Algeria on my dad’s side. Their players are always more raw and talented than you expect,” said Ben Imadali, who was also watching the game over a bowl of lentil soup at KAYMA. “I’m just stoked for my family; they’re all sitting out there watching this game. I’m not even the biggest soccer fan, but for me it’s a familial connection, you know?”

‘Just be fans and just belong’

For others who were forced to leave their home countries, like physician Nasser Mohamed, the World Cup has also renewed concerns and tensions over global politics and safety.

At 24, Mohamed fled Qatar, where it is illegal to be openly gay, and landed in San Francisco. With the World Cup putting Qatar on the national stage, Mohamed, one of the very few Qatari people who is publicly out, is using the moment to draw attention to LGBTQ+ rights in his home country, but this comes with real risks.

Mohamed attended the World Cup match between Qatar and Switzerland at Levi’s Stadium, dressed in a ceremonial Arab cloak with rainbows. Even with security and a seat next to Sen. Scott Wiener, Mohamed said the attention felt dangerous.

“I was numb. I felt like I had to leave my body to stand there and be visible, because I know they want to hurt me. I have death threats against me right now,” Mohamed told KQED. “A lot of us in the United States have fled political persecution, and now they are all coming to us here where we have sought refuge.”

The head-turning at the soccer stadium hasn’t slowed him down. Mohamed has been organizing Pride events around the World Cup all month to help more residents feel safe and supported around the tournament and beyond.

“Some people react violently to the fact that we just sit in the stands,” he said. “And that’s where we need some advocacy, to just be fans and just belong.”

Experts say ongoing international issues like the U.S. war in Iran and President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement campaign have contributed to the lower-than-expected World Cup turnout from international travelers.

“Ticket prices, inflation fears and the so-called ‘Trump slump’ are putting fans off, with hotel rates down by a third in host cities from Atlanta to San Francisco,” a post from the World Economic Forum read.

While travel from abroad has dipped, the matches have nonetheless drawn local demonstrators out to protest the political backdrop to the World Cup.

Hundreds of Iranian Americans demonstrated outside the first Iran match in Los Angeles earlier this month. While thousands of fans cheered inside SoFi Stadium, those on the outside challenged the team for supporting the Iranian government in Tehran.

But inside the homes, bars and restaurants where fans are gathering to watch the tournament, they’re also contending with their mixed feelings of celebration and conflict.

Milka Pineda is of Mexican descent and hopes the team will win this year. She attended a watch party at Mad Dog in the Fog, a bar in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, on a recent Thursday night to watch Australia versus Paraguay.

“It’s cool, but it would be nicer if, you know, there weren’t all of these political issues going on,” she said.

‘This beautiful moment’

Down the bar at Mad Dog in the Fog, Guatemala-born Kevin Ocha kept an eye on Paraguay, whose team had knocked out Guatemala to qualify for the World Cup.

“My country has never made it into the World Cup. This year they came very close,” he said — and if his team were to make it in the future, he said he would be thrilled. “Soccer originated out of the Mayan culture, and Guatemala is Mayan, so it’s a very big deal for us.”

Back at KAYMA, the restaurant’s owner and head chef, Wafa Bahloul, said that the World Cup has been a chance to showcase the Algerian food and culture she loves with anyone who wants a place to sit and watch some soccer.

Even if they ultimately watched Algeria lose 3-0 to Argentina that night.

“This is so special for us. It reminds me of the kind of events we do in Algeria; we gather all together around the food, laughing and telling stories,” Bahloul said in between rushing out plates to customers.

“This is really a unique thing and doesn’t happen every day,” she said. “We really want to take advantage, as much as we can, of this beautiful moment.”