World Cup Watch Parties are Blending Culture, Community, and Connection

If you live in a World Cup host city or state like I do, it's nearly impossible to go three blocks without hearing someone talk about the tournament.

The World Cup has become impossible to avoid in the best way. It's on TikTok, it's in group chats, it's on restaurant TVs, and somehow even people who haven't watched soccer in years suddenly have strong opinions. But while everyone else seems focused on what's happening on the field, I've become fascinated by what's happening around it. Because the more World Cup content I consumed, the more I realized some of the most interesting moments weren't happening during the matches at all. They were happening at the watch parties that my favorite host creators were putting together online.

They're building menus around competing countries, planning outfits around team colors, hosting friends in their homes, taking over bars, and documenting the entire experience online. Some are gathering to support their home countries. Some are showing up because their friend invited them. Some are there for the food. And some are showing up because they're tired of talking to the same three men on Hinge and hoping to run into a guy they haven't seen before at their local bar (and I don't blame them).

Honestly, the excitement makes sense. The World Cup is the largest sporting event in the world, attracting billions of viewers and bringing together countries, cultures, and communities from across the globe. In a moment when so many people are craving opportunities to connect in real life, the tournament has become the perfect excuse to gather.

For Tanya Marie, a Congolese-American content creator, celebrating DR Congo's return to the World Cup after 52 years wasn't something she was going to watch quietly from her couch. "After 52 years, DR Congo was finally back in the World Cup, and I wanted to celebrate that moment by opening my home and giving friends and family a true Congolese experience," she tells Popsugar. "From the food and music to the energy and traditions, it was an opportunity to showcase how rich, beautiful, and vibrant our culture is."

The watch party was only the beginning. Marie later attended World Cup events in person alongside her mother and cousin, an experience she describes as emotional, surreal, and deeply personal. "As a first-generation Congolese American, I've spent my whole life carrying my culture with pride, but to see DR Congo finally back on the world's biggest stage after 52 years felt bigger than soccer," she says. "It felt like history, resilience, and identity all coming together in one moment."

What stood out to me most about Tanya's experience was how much of it extended beyond the game itself. Yes, there was soccer. But there was also family, storytelling, fashion, and cultural pride. Her custom looks incorporated elements of the Congolese flag, while her content invited followers behind the scenes of a moment that felt larger than sports. "I think it's a combination of a lot of things, but fashion is definitely a huge part of it," Marie says. "The World Cup has become more than just a sporting event. It's a cultural moment."

And she's right.

The World Cup may be about soccer, but if you've spent any time online lately, you'd think it was also a fashion week, food festival, family reunion, networking event, and group trip all rolled into one. Between themed menus, country-inspired cocktails, travel content, outfit inspiration, and celebrity appearances, the tournament's influence stretches far beyond the pitch.

Senegalese-American actress and entrepreneur Issa Rae was recently spotted celebrating Senegal at MetLife Stadium, highlighting the way many fans are using the tournament as an opportunity to celebrate heritage, identity, and community. Reinforcing that for a lot of people, soccer is only part of the reason they're showing up.

At Saint James Libations, a Black-, queer-, and woman-owned bar in Brooklyn, community has been at the center of its Club Worldwide watch party series from the beginning. "Too often, people from marginalized communities enter sports spaces feeling like they're guests," says Lola Memberr and Akila Stewart, owners of Saint James Libations. "We wanted to create a space where we're the hosts." It's a simple idea, but an important one.

Sports bars haven't always felt welcoming to everyone. Saint James wanted to create something different: a space where women, queer people, and people of color could show up fully as themselves while still experiencing all the excitement that comes with cheering on a team.

"What we've learned through our watch parties is that people aren't just looking for a screen to watch a game," the team says. "They're looking for connection. They're looking for a place where they can cheer loudly, celebrate openly, and be fully themselves."

The team says they've watched strangers become friends, regulars bring new guests, and community form in real time. While soccer may bring people through the door, they believe it's the feeling of belonging that keeps them coming back. If there was one word that kept coming up in every conversation I had for this story, it was connection. That desire to gather is showing up everywhere from neighborhood bars to larger hospitality concepts designed around the fan experience.

Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton, founder of Chillhouse and a partner in her husband Adam Fulton's hospitality group, says sports fandom has become increasingly social, particularly among women. Between the success of concepts like Rocco's Sports & Rec. in New York and Boston and the recent opening of Sports & Rec. in West Palm Beach, she's watched sports bring together a remarkably diverse crowd.

"I don't think it's ever seen such fandom coming from women than this past year," Ramirez-Fulton says. "Maybe it's the Knicks effect? Maybe it's the NY Liberty? Either way, I am so about it."

For Ramirez-Fulton, sports watch parties offer something many people are craving right now: an reason to gather. "It's always a great excuse to see friends and come together over an exciting sport that brings joy in everyone in the room," she says. She also believes part of the appeal comes from the shared emotional experience that sports create.

"For real fans, it's the constant chase for the high of the win," she says. "I remember every minute of the Argentina and France World Cup Game in 2022. I was in North Beach in Miami, which is practically Little Argentina. I'm chasing that high again because wow, what a game."

Entrepreneur, lifestyle creator and hosting expert Akilah Releford Gould has built a following around entertaining, gathering, and creating intentional experiences. When I asked what makes a great watch party, her answer had surprisingly little to do with soccer. "I want people who are genuinely excited to be there, whether they follow the sport or not," she says. "A good watch party needs soccer fans, people who came for the vibe, and at least a few people who will start a conversation with a total stranger." Honestly, that last part may be the secret ingredient.

In a moment when so many people are craving ways to connect in real life, the World Cup has become one of the few events capable of bringing complete strangers into the same room and giving them something to talk about. Worst-case scenario, you watch soccer. Best-case scenario, you leave with a new friend, a new group chat, or even a phone number.

"We spend so much time halfway somewhere else — scrolling, half-watching, half-talking," Gould says. "A watch party gives people a reason to actually show up, put their phones down, and feel something together."

Her observation gets at what makes this moment feel different. While the details matter, the themed cocktails, carefully curated menus, custom jerseys, and perfectly planned outfits they're often serving a much bigger purpose. They're creating environments where people feel comfortable gathering, celebrating, and connecting.

As Marie points out, women are often the people carrying culture forward in the first place. "So many of us are the keepers of tradition within our families," she says. "We're often the ones cooking the traditional meals, organizing gatherings, teaching the next generation about their heritage, and creating spaces where culture can be celebrated."

That's why these watch parties feel so meaningful. Yes, people are showing up for soccer. Some are showing up because their friends invited them. Others are hoping to reconnect with their culture, support their home country, or simply spend a few hours around other people. But beneath all of those reasons is something much simpler: a desire to connect.

And after talking to hosts, creators, and community builders for this story, it's hard not to agree. The World Cup may be what brings everyone into the room, but the friendships, conversations, cultural pride, and memories being created once people get there feel like the real story. As Marie puts it, "The game may be the reason everyone shows up, but the culture, community, and shared identity are what keep people coming back."

Or, as Gould says even more simply: "The soccer is the excuse, but the connection is the point."

Yasmine Jameelah is a seasoned wellness journalist, editor, and community builder, and the founder of Transparent Black Girl, a groundbreaking wellness platform that has reached over five million Black women worldwide. Her insightful work and leadership have been featured in The New York Times, Essence, Popsugar, Coveteur, and Oprah Daily.