World Cup visitors arrive in Kansas City undeterred by national headlines

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - With more than a week still to go before the first official World Cup match kicks off in Kansas City, international fans are already arriving — and they’re not letting a wave of alarming headlines about a weekend of gun violence dampen their enthusiasm.

At Kansas City International Airport, the soccer faithful were easy to spot among the typical travelers.

“Viva Bolivia!” shouted one group making their way through the terminal. “Paraguay campeón!” cheered another.

Fans from Paraguay, Bolivia already on the ground

Juan Carlos Bernie flew in from Paraguay with his wife to soak up the World Cup atmosphere — and to visit their children, one studying in Manhattan, Kan., and another in Wichita. They plan to stay for an entire month, watching matches at watch parties and fan gatherings, with particular excitement for their native Paraguay, taking on the USA in California June 12, and world superstar team Argentina, which is based in Kansas City for the tournament.

Bernie said he didn’t see the troubling headlines and had no hesitation.

“No. I’m not worried about it. I’m going to visit everything here,” said Juan Carlos Bernie, a Paraguay fan.

Efrain Morales — originally from Bolivia — and his wife Valerie Badillo, who is proud of her Puerto Rican roots, flew in from Atlanta for a briefer but deeply personal visit. Their son — also named Efrain Morales — plays for the Bolivian national team and is in Kansas City for a friendly match against Algeria this week. The younger Morales, born in Georgia, made his national team debut in 2024 and previously played for MLS club Atlanta United before a recent trade to CF Montreal.

The family arrived Monday, plans to attend the friendly Wednesday if possible, and flies back Thursday — back to Atlanta, itself a World Cup host city.

Morales drew on his own experience living in a major American city to put the headlines in perspective.

“People say a lot of things about my country, Bolivia, and Bolivia is the perfect, beautiful place to go,” Morales said. “Atlanta is a super high-crime city, but you go to Atlanta and if you’re a smart person and hang out with the right people, you have a great time, and that’s what we expect to do here.”

Badillo said she was pleasantly surprised by the World Cup welcome at KCI — noting the airport had noticeably more World Cup-themed messaging than Atlanta’s airport.

“I haven’t heard anybody that says, ‘I’m not coming to the United States because it’s dangerous,’” Badillo said.

Their Kansas City host, Boris Eterovic, has lived here for six years and is proud to show off his adopted city.

“Very few people know of the fun and nice and happy place Kansas City. So, I’m happy to show them this,” Eterovic said.

Morales had a playful response to his friend’s confidence.

“He said we’re going to have a great time, so it’s up to him. We better,” Morales said.

The headlines that traveled the world

The visitors’ upbeat mood comes against a backdrop of a violent weekend in Kansas City. Nine people were shot in the early morning hours of Saturday at an unlicensed nightclub in the 7900 block of Troost Avenue. All nine were adults and all were expected to survive. Later that same night, two men were killed in a separate shooting along Westport Road.

The Troost shooting quickly drew international attention after outlets including The Athletic — connected to The New York Times — published a headline linking the incident to England’s World Cup base camp. The Daily Mail, The Independent, and other global outlets amplified the story to millions of readers.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas pushed back sharply, calling the framing misleading. Swope Soccer Village, where England will train, is nearly five miles from the Troost shooting scene. The team hotel is roughly six miles away.

“It did seem like there was an effort to sensationalize in some way a nexus between England practicing in Kansas City and this incident that has almost nothing to do with either Prairie Village or Swope Park,” Lucas said.

Lucas acknowledged the city’s broader challenge with gun violence but expressed full confidence in the city’s ability to deliver a safe World Cup.

“I have absolutely no concern about our ability to deliver public safety for visitors and guests during the World Cup. None whatsoever,” Lucas said.

Read the full story on the mayor’s response here.

What visitors are actually finding

The fans KCTV5 spoke with echoed a consistent message: the headlines haven’t matched their experience on the ground.

Kansas City is expecting approximately 650,000 visitors during the World Cup. Argentina, England, and the Netherlands are all based in the city for the tournament. England is scheduled to arrive June 13. Matches at Arrowhead Stadium begin shortly after.

Wednesday’s Bolivia-Algeria friendly is expected to be closed to the general public.