For many players on the Richmond Kickers, this year’s “Summer of Soccer” reminds them of what makes the sport so profound
As the whistle blew in the fifth game of the 2026 NBA Finals, and as point guard Jalen Brunson hoisted the New York Knicks’ first championship in over half a century, 33 million unique viewers found themselves transfixed on the excitement. The matchup served as a culmination of a tumultuous five-game final series against the San Antonio Spurs, one that arrived after nearly two months of postseason competition and an 82-game regular season for each team involved.
The average 20.6 million unique viewers throughout this year’s NBA Finals were the most the league has seen in nearly three decades. Similarly, in American football’s most recent final showdown – the Seattle Seahawks squaring away against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8, 2026 – 125.6 million unique viewers tuned into the action. Even this year’s six-game Stanley Cup Final series, which featured the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights in National Hockey League (NHL) competition, attained the most championship series views since 2019.
And yet, when the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off with Mexico against South Africa on Thursday, June 11, a reported 1.2 billion unique viewers had their eyes on the fixture. That’s more than 58 times as many viewers as the NBA Finals and more than nine times as many Super Bowl LX viewers.
The matchup was not a championship showdown, however. It was the first game of the tournament.
“It’s a big event,” says Tarik Pannholzer, forward for the Richmond Kickers. “The whole world is watching. It’s just unbelievable how many people are watching the World Cup.”
Perhaps no other example proves the ubiquity and omnipresence of soccer on the global stage quite like viewership analytics. By analyzing the numbers, one can deduce an inescapable truth: Soccer is by far the most popular sport – both in participation and consumption – around the globe.
For Lucca Dourado, who lines up alongside Pannholzer as a forward for the Kickers, his affinity for the world’s game started as a child growing up in São Paulo, Brazil. Raised in a country that is wholly dedicated to the sport, it didn’t take long for it, too, to infatuate the 5’10” forward.
“It’s all we know,” said Dourado, who has notched 22 shots and three goals for the Kickers in 2026. “My father, too, he played until he couldn’t…having that dream for him too, it’s something I wanted to achieve. Now I’m here achieving this also for me, but also for him…that love for soccer, it’s something that gets everybody together. It’s a great community.
Dourado recounted how he was gifted a soccer ball for every birthday as a child, further emphasizing the importance and all-consuming nature of soccer in the South American country. The country’s fire burns brightest when the World Cup makes its unmistakable appearance every four years.
“Everybody paints in the streets to get a good vibe for the World Cup,” said Dourado. “I do want my kids to grow up there to experience that. It’s been awesome [to witness].”
Prior to his time in Richmond, stops at the University of Central Florida and USL League One side Forward Madison FC allowed Dourado to personally experience soccer through varying perspectives. Living vicariously through different cultures, said Dourado, allowed him to see the growth of soccer in the United States.
“Having that opportunity to go to college and play with the different guys from different countries…playing in Madison [was] a different culture than I was in Brazil,” admitted the São Paulo native. “It was weird for me at the beginning, but having that community again with a bunch of Latinos out there to help me grow into soccer here too…it’s been good [for me].”
For Kickers goalkeeper Yann Fillion, experiencing soccer across the world – specifically, away from his hometown of Ottawa, Ontario – allowed for a more profound understanding of what occurred on the pitch. Between stops in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland and at home in Canada, Fillion came to realize how, while the culture and location may be different, the foundational aspects of the game persist.
“The biggest thing is that, you know, soccer can be so different while it’s always the same,” said Fillion. “Depending on where you’re playing, there’s always different playing styles and different views. It’s been amazing to be able to witness and experience different football cultures that way.”
Fillion has logged experience across the world in his professional career, including stops at AC Oulo (red) and with HFX Wanderers FC in the Canadian Premier League (green).
Of the lessons learned throughout what continues to be a lengthy professional career for Fillion, perhaps none are more potent than the way emotion manifests itself on the field. For the Ontario native, one word describes his playstyle: Free.
“I play the same way that I live life, which is free, and in the way I feel my emotions very strongly,” said Fillion. “Traveling the world and being able to experience so many different cultures, so many highs, so many lows, it just made me who I am today. [I] try to bring that on the pitch and try to bring that upon others as well.”
Pannholzer’s time across international clubs and global stages revealed a similar truth. Without joy, said the Flensburg, Germany native, there’s no point.
“I always try to keep the joy in it,” said Pannholzer. “I mean, if you don’t do it for the joy, if you just see it as a job, I think you’re not going to be successful because you’re going to burn out at some point.”
Pannholzer’s international soccer experience was largely seen in top German youth teams, including FC St. Pauli (left, right) and SC Weiche Flensburg 08 (middle).
In Richmond, the “Summer of Soccer” has continued in full swing. Both the Richmond Kickers and Richmond Ivy – who concluded their season with a dominant 3-0 victory on Sat., June 27 – have taken to the field in competition, thrilling countless “RVA” locals under the bright lights of City Stadium.
For Landon Johnson and Josh Kirkland – homegrown products who both recall spending time as a spectator before a player for the Richmond Kickers – the World Cup has introduced a heightened level of awareness to what makes local soccer special. The subsequent effects of that awareness, Johnson hopes, will extend far past the tournament’s final whistle on July 19.
“Here in Richmond, we have a big following of supporters, and some other places in the league might not get that,” said Johnson. “We’re lucky here in Richmond to have a supportive group of fans that [truly] care. With the World Cup coming, that’s a lot of eyes and a lot more awareness and bigger following…hopefully to the Kickers.”
As the tournament hit its midway point in late June 2026, it was announced that Richmond has served as the eighth-largest market in the United States for viewership of the excitement. The stat is made more impressive with the knowledge that, of the ten locations at the top of the charts, Richmond is the least dense in regards to population per the United States 2020 Census.
For Johnson, it’s proof that the community has become more engaged in soccer over the past decade. Now in his fourth year with the club, the Chesterfield, Virginia native acutely understands what local soccer means not only to himself, but to the community.
“The whole experience of once being the person in the stands watching…the people I was watching with are now watching me,” said Johnson. “The people in the stands make you feel like there are 50,000 fans sometimes.”
Unlike in the way that Dourado experienced a more profound global understanding of soccer through stops outside of Richmond, Johnson understood the proverbial culture melting pot through the Richmond locker room. It’s a place that, said Johnson, speaks to the vibrancy and diversity of cultures in and around the area.
“Everyone comes from different backgrounds, different cultures, but you know, soccer is a universal language,” said Johnson. “We’re all pretty different, but we’re all very similar in some ways. It’s cool when it comes together on the field and in the locker room.”
Kirkland began speaking the “universal language” of soccer on various travel teams, where a lack of diversity was noticeable. A four-year collegiate career at the University of Mary Washington – where he would be named a two-time All-American and three-time All-Region player alongside 47 career goals for the Eagles – quickly introduced him to more than what was present in his travel experience.
“As I went to school and I got back from college here, I was like, ‘Wow. People are from Brazil, people from Spain…all over the country,’” said Kirkland. [We’ve got guys] from São Paulo, [Brazil], Virginia, you got people from Germany…it’s cool how soccer can bring everyone together, especially in Richmond.”
As a Richmond native, Kirkland first began playing soccer with the Richmond Strikers. The now-forward can be seen center (right).
That same diversity continues to positively impact Kirkland’s playing experience. “It’s definitely opened my eyes as to how different soccer can be played,” said the Virginia native, “[by] watching how guys treat themselves on the field [and] how they bring their passion from different countries.”
Events like the World Cup speak to the connectedness of locals in the area and the team itself. In turn, support for the team has continued to remind players of the strength, presence and fervor of local soccer in Richmond.
“After every game, you’re high-fiving everyone and signing autographs,” said Kirkland, who has deepened his Richmond roots by coaching youth soccer around the area. “All my family and friends come and sit behind the bench. It just brings everyone together.”
As the longest continuously running professional soccer club in the United States, the Richmond Kickers – and the people of Richmond – have grown together both in identity and spirit over three decades. By providing fans with unforgettable events at the historic City Stadium, including national team friendlies, international fixtures and unforgettable Kickers moments, the team has allowed the local area to understand, experience and enjoy the sport in a way that brings the global game to the city’s backyard.
“Having the opportunity to interact with the fans and the fans interact with the players in that sense…it’s something that you don’t necessarily get at the top of the pyramid,” said Fillion, speaking to the profoundness of local soccer. “It makes it more enjoyable. You don’t see these people as different people…they’re the same.”
