Bidding for a spot as a host city seemed nearly impossible. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Until it\u00a0wasn\u2019t.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The University of Kansas, Explore Lawrence,\u00a0Rock Chalk Park and\u00a0Lawrence\u00a0city government teamed to argue that their small city could play, or host, on the World Cup Stage.\u00a0Their bidding preparation\u00a0started\u00a0before Kansas City was\u00a0announced to host a team in June 2022. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWe were working on it before\u00a0\u2014\u00a0and probably\u00a0submitted\u00a0it afterward,\u201d\u00a0\u00a0Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei\u00a0said.\u00a0\u201cWe knew that being in\u00a0the middle of the United States would be an advantage, because of teams having to go to\u00a0different places\u00a0to play their games.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n
Now, it looks logical. Lawrence has become a\u00a0media<\/a>\u00a0darling<\/a>\u00a0: the non-metropolitan outpost in a red state that\u2019s shown visitors from a Muslim country what Midwest nice is all about.<\/p>\n But how did Lawrence lure Algeria?\u00a0<\/p>\n Finkeldei\u00a0said city officials\u00a0relied heavily on\u00a0Lawrence\u2019s\u00a0history of welcoming newcomers in and around the campus of the University of Kansas. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a history of having students come\u00a0\u2026\u00a0from all over the world that folks would find welcoming,\u201d Finkeldei said.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0fascinating\u00a0to me, you know,\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0not\u00a0heard\u00a0about any other suburb or any other small town that is being\u00a0more talked\u00a0about.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n Lawrence residents\u00a0greeted\u00a0Algerians\u00a0with\u00a0open arms.\u00a0People point to two women as catalysts. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Amal El\u00a0Haimaur, assistant professor of African and African American Studies\u00a0at the\u00a0University of Kansas, and Aya\u00a0Fayed, a Ph.D. student and Arabic lecturer, quietly\u00a0planted seeds of\u00a0Algerian\u00a0and Arabic culture across Lawrence\u00a0months\u00a0before\u00a0even\u00a0a single soccer fan\u00a0would notice. \u00a0<\/p>\n In a\u00a0collaboration\u00a0with one of her\u00a0professors,\u00a0Fayed jumped on the Lawrence\u00a0World Cup prep team\u00a0by writing and producing a video on Arabic and Algerian culture to share with downtown businesses.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cEspecially\u00a0the\u00a0restaurants,\u201d\u00a0Fayed\u00a0said. \u201cThey wanted to know: What does it mean to have halal food in the\u00a0restaurant?\u00a0What are some of the customs that might be confusing when they are dealing with\u00a0new\u00a0people?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Reasonable communication was also mentioned in the video. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe might get loud, so\u00a0don\u2019t confuse\u00a0like a normal conversation\u00a0when\u00a0things\u00a0get\u00a0animated and like an actual argument,\u201d Fayed said.\u00a0\u201cWe are just\u00a0excited.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n El\u00a0Haimaur\u00a0led a World Cup committee\u00a0established\u00a0by\u00a0various KU department heads and professors that helped mesh\u00a0culture and community.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to create that understanding,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n But their biggest chunk of work came around translation.\u00a0They have provided Arabic translation to the city\u00a0for weather, parking signs and more. They translated the Algerian national anthem into English, so locals could learn it. They\u00a0have also taught multiple Arabic language classes at the Lawrence Public Library.\u00a0 The final class is scheduled for July 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt was for\u00a0all the\u00a0cultural reasons,\u201d Al Haimur said.\u00a0\u201cFrom greetings, from the history, from\u00a0colonization, because\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0very important\u00a0why Algerians speak French, right?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Algeria was a French colony for 130-plus years until the early 1960s.<\/p>\n \u201cThey speak\u00a0French\u00a0because\u00a0\u00a0of colonization,\u201d she said.\u00a0\u201cAlso, it has an effect in the Algerian cuisine, Algerian dress, because when you\u00a0acquire\u00a0a language,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0also affecting the sets of cultural norms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n