{"id":771235,"date":"2026-05-03T22:01:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:01:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/771235\/"},"modified":"2026-05-03T22:01:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-03T22:01:22","slug":"houston-soccer-fans-brave-long-lines-for-glimpse-of-fifa-world-cup-2026-trophy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/771235\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston soccer fans brave long lines for glimpse of FIFA World Cup 2026 trophy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vnnr2ssltww92bzv.jpg\" alt=\"FIFA World Cup trophy draws long line in Houston\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-4292be72=\"\"\/>    <\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> &#8211; The most iconic prize in sports has officially touched down in the Space City, and Houstonians are showing up in droves to welcome it.<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">With the FIFA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/shows\/world-cup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">World Cup<\/a> 2026 rapidly approaching, the original Trophy made a stop in Houston this week, drawing hundreds of passionate fans to Helix Park for a once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity.<\/p>\n<p>   FIFA Fans <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KRIV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\">Local perspective:<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">The excitement was palpable, but seeing the gold required serious dedication. Fans reported waiting in lines for three to four hours, with some arriving as early as 8:00 a.m. to secure their spot.<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">Despite the long wait and the Houston heat, the atmosphere remained electric.<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">&#8220;When you see everyone in their different jerseys and all these people coming together for this event, it distracts you,&#8221; one fan told FOX 26. &#8220;It makes time go by faster. I would tell people: it\u2019s once in a lifetime, so hang in there. Get your water and stay hydrated.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p> Preparing for 2026  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rvs5wa3s8di89cw8.jpg\" alt=\"Preparations continue ahead of World Cup | Houston's Soccer HQ\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-4292be72=\"\"\/>   <\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KRIV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\">What they&#8217;re saying:<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">The trophy&#8217;s arrival serves as a major milestone as Houston prepares to serve as a host city for the 2026 tournament.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">For many local families, the wait was a small price to pay to be near a symbol of global soccer history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">To pass the time, younger fans kept busy with park activities, including playing at the nearby waterfalls.<\/p>\n<p original-article-post=\"\" origination_station=\"KRIV\" data-v-ec26887a=\"\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\">What&#8217;s next:<\/p>\n<p data-v-871f4c88=\"\">The road to the World Cup is shortening. The first match to be held here in Houston is just about a month away on June 14th.<\/p>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/p39blwywyuukvjx5.jpg\" alt=\"Testing your soccer IQ | Houston's Soccer HQ\" class=\"sr-only\" data-v-4292be72=\"\"\/>   <\/p>\n<p class=\"group-source-paragraph\" data-v-4fbf7207=\"\"><b data-v-4fbf7207=\"\">The Source:<\/b> FIFA World Cup 2026 and Coca-Cola.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>    <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/tag\/world-cup\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">FIFA World Cup<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/tag\/us\/tx\/houston\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Houston<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox26houston.com\/tag\/top-stories\" class=\"tags-tag\" data-v-871f4c88=\"\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Top Stories<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON &#8211; The most iconic prize in sports has officially touched down in the Space City, and Houstonians&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":771236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[4345,50,358,52,3187,68,21490],"class_list":{"0":"post-771235","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-houston","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-texas","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-tx","13":"tag-us","14":"tag-world-cup"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116512902906096342","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=771235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/771235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/771236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=771235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=771235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=771235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}