Where are – With Philadelphia’s final World Cup game on Saturday, international fans who filled the city for weeks are starting their trips home—taking yellow-jersey Ecuador support, Curaçao birthday celebrations, French bistro hopes, and a Scot’s photos outside Rocky bac
When Philadelphia’s final World Cup game ends on Saturday, the crowd that has turned parts of the city into a festival of soccer won’t vanish all at once.
For weeks, the streets have carried the noise of traveling fandom—Ecuadorians in a sea of yellow on the Rocky steps, Ivorian supporters moving through Fan Festival energy, and French fans who, in one telling moment, admitted they “lied to their bosses” to be here.
“It’s wonderful for Philadelphia and wonderful for America, welcoming everybody into this beautiful country,” said Côte d’Ivoire-born Philadelphian Ahmadou Dia, who moved to the city a decade ago. Dia said the tournament’s pull is bigger than flags.
“The World Cup, the football itself, brings every country, every single person, together regardless of color. It doesn’t matter what you look like, because on the field or in that stadium, we’re family.”
For many visitors, the World Cup isn’t a trip they fit into a weekend—it’s one they plan for years. Fans save thousands of dollars to get across oceans for a single match, and then carry the memories home.
Ecuadorians were the clearest example of what that looks like here. Ecuadorian native Francisca Castellanos traveled 14 hours to meet her father and other family in Quito, before heading to Philadelphia in time for the World Cup.
Her father, Francisco, has attended the last 10 World Cup tournaments, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. When the United States was announced as a World Cup host, the Castellanoses were overjoyed.
“A World Cup in the U.S is a lot more accessible to Ecuadorians because a lot of our population already lives in the U.S., and the currency is the same,” Castellanos said. “There is also language accessibility because people speak English here, unlike in Qatar, where communication was harder.”
Across the city, Ecuador’s surge showed up not just in the turnout, but in the travel numbers. The six matches played in Philadelphia brought tourists from Brazil, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Curaçao, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Haiti, and Iraq.
But while Canada. the United Kingdom. and Italy take the crown as the top countries by volume for international travelers this summer. Ecuadorian travelers surged anyway. Flight bookings from Ecuador to Philadelphia jumped 622% compared to the year prior. Philadelphia hosted Ecuador’s first group match in the World Cup. and the trip stretched 2. 760 miles for fans who wanted to see it in person.
In a group that organized the Ecuadorian event at the Rocky steps, Danilo Carrión said more than 2,000 Ecuador fans showed up to dance, sing, and, in his words, “accidentally jinx their team” after putting Ecuador merch on Rocky.
“It was the first game for Ecuador, so a lot of the Ecuadorians from Ecuador and the U.S. had to be here because there was a lot of expectation,” Carrión said. He said the influx was also made easier by travel links between the South American country and the U.S.
“It’s easier for us to travel to the States than to Europe or Qatar,” Carrión said. “And there are direct flights to LaGuardia and New York.”
Travel rules still shape who can chase the match and how. Ecuadorians require visas to enter Europe, Canada, and the United States. Even traveling to Mexico can involve visa procedures if they don’t have a U.S. visa first, a formality that Carrión said has become more complex since Ecuador and Mexico broke international relationships in 2024.
For Curaçao, the story is smaller by geography but loud in the way numbers can still surprise. Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten—part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands—have seen a huge surge in flights this summer, with Curaçao’s increase nearly 240%.
That matters because Curaçao is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, with a population of 158,006 people. Vanessa Santine-Vinck traveled from Curaçao with her partner and two sons, tying the World Cup to something personal.
“When we won tickets through the FIFA lottery for the Curaçao versus Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, we knew we had to make it happen, especially since the Curaçao match falls on my husband’s birthday,” she said.
Travel from Sint Maarten and Aruba is up as well—193% and 117% respectively.
Other places that weren’t expected to dominate the city still turned Philadelphia into a waypoint. Croatia claimed victory over Ghana at Philadelphia Stadium on June 27, and flights from Croatia jumped almost 100%. Neighboring Hungary has also seen a dramatic increase, with almost 200% more flights from Hungary this summer than last summer.
The Dominican Republic’s movement looks steadier. Travel from the Caribbean nation increased 34%, tied to Philadelphia’s growing Dominican community in recent years. While the Dominican Republic is not in the World Cup, its neighbor Haiti faced Brazil on June 19 and lost 3-0.
French tourists, meanwhile, have made Philadelphia feel familiar in their own way. This summer has brought a 33% uptick in French tourism to the city, with France ranking fourth in terms of total foreign travel after Canada, the U.K., and Italy.
For the French supporters, the connections were more than the scoreboard. Throngs of Francophones across the city cheered on their national team to a 3-0 victory against Iraq on June 22.
Elias Pierson traveled from France because the cross-cultural ties run deep—he pointed to the way Parisian aesthetics have influenced Philadelphia’s architecture. He said it was an easy choice because two of his family’s favorite teams, France and Côte d’Ivoire, would play in Philadelphia.
As he walked through Independence Hall with his family last week, much of what he saw reminded him of home.
“We have a good relationship with the people of Philadelphia. We were just in the train station with a Philadelphian. and she explained to us where we needed to go and where the best French restaurants are. ” Pierson said. “My favorite part of Philadelphia so far is City Hall and Old City because of the very beautiful buildings.”.
And before he heads home, Pierson has one more goal to chase: a coveted seat at Philly’s world-famous French bistro, Parc.
Outside, the welcome has also become part of the memory. Fraser McNaughton, a Scot visiting Philadelphia with family, said he couldn’t believe how inviting Philadelphians have been when he took photos with the Rocky statue last week.
“Everywhere we’ve went, everyone’s been so friendly, so welcoming, helping us out when we need it,” McNaughton said. “It’s just a brilliant city.”
His fellow Scot, Michelle Thomson, echoed that tone.
“They go out of their way to say ‘Hello’ or ‘Welcome to Philly’ here,” Thomson said. “We’ve really loved it.”
Even the travel pattern itself reflects what fans came for: not just to watch. but to belong for a few weeks in a city that has made them feel seen. So when the final game arrives Saturday. the cheering may quiet—but the question of where the stories land next is already in motion. with flights carrying fans back to places as far apart as Curaçao and Ecuador. and plans already forming around the next tournament.
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