With just days remaining before the start of FIFA World Cup 2026 action in Miami, soccer fans are already getting into the spirit of the tournament at Copa Del Sol on Miami Beach.
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The three-day community soccer festival kicked off Friday at Lummus Park, drawing hundreds of players and spectators to the sand for a celebration of the world’s most popular sport.
The event, organized by the Miami Host Committee, is part of the One Game One Passion community programming leading up to the World Cup. Miami is one of 16 host cities for FIFA World Cup 2026.
“We’ll have FIFA legends, we’re going to have influencers that are going to be here, football influencers, who are going to be competing in a match starting at six o’clock,” said Michelle Lachapelle, Chief Commercial Officer for the Miami Host Committee.
Copa Del Sol features more than 160 teams from across South Florida competing in a fast-paced four-versus-four mini-pitch tournament. Divisions include youth, women’s, competitive, corporate and open categories.
The festival celebrates the ability of soccer to bring together people from different communities, cultures, generations and backgrounds through sport and friendly competition.
Participants said the beach setting adds to the excitement.
“Everybody sees people play soccer, they want to get out on the field themselves and we’re playing on a beach, which is even more exciting,” one participant said. “It gets people wanting to play for sure.”
Members of the Sunset Strikers team were also feeling confident after an early victory.
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“We’re all on the same team here,” one player said. “We just won our last game. We’re going to continue until we win, and then we go to the World Cup to enjoy the summer the right way.”
While fans enjoyed the action on the beach, organizers were also preparing behind the scenes for the massive logistical operation required to host the tournament.
Earlier Friday, officials provided a look inside the tournament operations center, where information from more than 500 official sites across three countries is monitored and coordinated.
“It’s really, really important in a tournament of this magnitude to have the right information, to have everybody together in one center, to be able to discuss issues, to find solutions, and then to apply those solutions,” an official said.
Organizers say the scale of the tournament presents significant logistical challenges, requiring constant coordination among transportation providers, law enforcement, hotels and tournament officials.
“The big challenge of this tournament is obviously its scale and the resulting logistics,” the official said. “Everything is connected.”
Copa Del Sol continues through Sunday at Lummus Park as South Florida counts down to the arrival of the FIFA World Cup 2026.
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