Remembering a World’s Borough World Cup
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Queens residents celebrated the World Cup’s highs and lows across the borough this summer. Photos via the Queens Memory Project
By Ryan Schwach
Fans celebrating in bars with loose connections to the country they were supporting, chance subway encounters between rivals on a Queens N train and jubilant celebrations on Steinway Street and outside of historic clubhouses.
These are just some of the stories from a World Cup in Queens – when the diversity and culture of the World’s Borough was put on full display as the global tournament played out just across the Hudson River and beyond.
In an effort to document the 2026 FIFA World Cup and its cultural and historical impact on the soccer-loving borough, the Queens Memory Project is teaming up with Queens Public Library to gather Queens locals’ stories from the tournament.
“Something as enormous as the World Cup is obviously experienced by millions of people, and yet within that collective experience, there are so many individual, meaningful moments that are really specific to those individuals,” said Annabel Short, the founder of World Cup Memory and a long-time contributor to the Queens Memory Collections at QPL.
Short told the Eagle that focusing on Queens to capture the experience of this summer’s World Cup was a “no brainer,” and ventured to gather stories that could encapsulate the energy the tournament brought to Queens.
She spoke to attendees at Honey Fitz, an Astoria watering hole that became an unofficial viewing place for Cabo Verde matches as the small island nation made its historic run through the tournament.
Atlanta Amando, who was born in the city to a mother from Cabo Verde, told Short having the bar to celebrate in “meant everything.”
“It feels really really powerful to be seen,” she told her. “Like, a lot of us our entire lives people have assumed we were Dominican, or Brazilian, and to have this place – like steps from home, we are all within walking distance – it literally gives me chills.”
Short also spoke to excited fans outside of a historic Spanish club just minutes after Spain captured the World Cup trophy over Lionel Messi and Argentina.
“We all came here to watch the game and celebrate together. Thankfully Spain won!” a man named Gabriel told her.
A favorite memory of Short’s was one she witnessed herself.
Queens residents celebrated the World Cup’s highs and lows across the borough this summer. Photos via the Queens Memory Project
On a crowded N train somewhere between Queensboro Plaza and Ditmars Boulevard, she watched two women dawning gear from Morocco watched the country’s game against Haiti with a random man on the train.
“It was just a brief moment but in many ways reflects the essence of World Cup memories,” Short wrote. “Moments of connection between people who may not have spoken otherwise.”
“A big event like the World Cup will come and go, but actually sports will carry on or their sort of connection through sports will carry on,” she added to the Eagle.
Meral Agish, the Queens Memory Project coordinator at the QPL, told the Eagle she thinks the stories Short has collected so far encapsulate the fervor the World Cup brought to Queens, and hopes the work can be continued during future tournaments.
“In four years' time, when the next World Cup happens, people in Queens will of course be celebrating, watching and cheering,” she said. “We're hoping that this collection will continue to grow.”
Queens residents can contribute their own memories of the World Cup to the Queens Public Library on their website.
