World Cup 2026 Project Fundraiser
157 rolls of film. 39 days. More than 20 games covered. More than 15 cities visited.
The World Cup came to North America this year. Although the tournament was on home turf, for many supporters tickets were expensive, official events were heavily secured, and many fans couldn’t make it into the stadiums. So I went looking for them.
I traveled thousands of miles through big cities and small towns, spending time in homes, restaurants, bars, community spaces, and wherever else people gathered to watch. I wanted to see what the World Cup could look like if I turned away from the stadiums and toward the people.
I funded the project myself from the beginning. I wanted to protect the freedom to follow the project wherever it took me without thinking about what a sponsor, brand, or organization might want in return. About 80% of the work was photographed on film, with digital images added in along the way to keep the film costs from becoming completely impossible. Even then, I came home with more than 150 rolls. A lot of the work still lives inside those neatly packed rolls, just waiting to be developed and scanned.
That is where I could use your help. This fundraiser is about finishing the project and giving the work a life beyond my negatives, my hard drives, your screen. The goal is to develop and scan the remaining work, make prints, and eventually bring photos and stories from the road into a photobook.
Although not small, my hope is to raise $7,500 through this fundraiser. You can support by purchasing a print, sponsoring a roll, or contributing directly. However you wish to support, you are helping bring this project to its final form and amplifying the overall message behind this project.
How to Support?
Project Progress
Total prints purchased = 6/60
Total Funds Raised = $1,530 / $7,500
Total Rolls Sponsored = 29/157
*updated weekly - last update 09/30/26*
About The Project
The 2026 World Cup was called the “rich man’s” World Cup. But what did that really mean?
In a memorable interview in 1979, after a successful year, Bob Marley was asked, “Did you make a lot of money out of your music? Are you a rich man? Do you have a lot of possessions?” Marley pauses and then questions the interviewer’s understanding of what it means to be rich in the first place.
I won’t spell out the rest because the video itself is worth watching, and because you probably know where I am going with this.
This project explores the true richness of the World Cup. The richness of community. Of people from different backgrounds gathering around the same television. The richness of tasting different foods and hearing different languages in the cities and towns people from all nations have made their home.
The United States is home to more immigrants than any other country in the world, and this summer it hosted the largest sporting competition in the world. Yet for many supporters, this year the dream of being inside the stadium was simply out of reach.
Round of 32 | USA vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
July 1, 2026 | Manchester, NH
Instead they came together and experienced football in ways that are older, more familiar, and arguably purest of all. Just together.
In homes, restaurants, bars, community centers, parks, and neighborhood streets. Through food, language, family, flags, nerves, celebration, and disappointment.
This project is a visual story of what it looked like to live through the World Cup from outside the stadiums. Documenting communities who may have been priced out of the tournament itself, but were always at the core of what made it meaningful.
Money and circumstances may have kept them outside the gates, but they were rich in all the ways that mattered.
I hope you enjoy the work as much as I enjoyed making it.
July 3, 2026 | Astoria, Queens, NY
Round of 32 | Australia vs Egypt
Road Trip stories
During the 39 days of the World Cup, I traveled to over 15 U.S. cities. I covered more than 20 games. I drove over 3,000 miles. And… had maybe one too many shots with my new Cabo Verdean friends. Somewhere along the way, interestingly enough, I found myself falling in love with the United States again.
Throughout the adventure I recorded voice memos to send to my wife, trying to give her a small glimpse into how profound some of the connections I was making with these communities and fans felt.
It’s widely known the United States is a melting pot, but it’s different to hear about it than it is to experience it. I listened closely and saw firsthand how American cities have become places for people of all nationalities to preserve their culture and community. They celebrate even while facing the hardships of all that is going on here today.
This journey is split into five parts. It starts in a local soccer shop just outside Los Angeles, California, and ends at the American Dream mall, across the street from MetLife Stadium. Quite romantic if you ask me.
My hope is that the stories below offer you a little peek into the stories behind the photos. Maybe your own version of voice memos sent home from the road.
July 3, 2026 | Somewhere leaving New York City
Part 1
One of the things I’ve loved most about this journey as a photographer is how, when I’m on the right path with a project or simply following my gut, something seems to unfold that reaffirms I am where I’m supposed to be and doing what I’m supposed to be doing. On the first day of the project, before I had even made it through the first game, I had one of those moments.
I reconnected with a man who owns a small soccer store called Euceda Sports in San Pedro, CA. I stopped in to see if he was watching the opening game and he was there, watching with his dad. As we caught up and I told him about my project, he asked why I wasn’t wearing a jersey. I told him I wanted to stay neutral and avoid inserting myself too much into the moments I was documenting.
He paused.
A few seconds of silence (and roughly a hundred negative self-talk thoughts later) he pulled out a jersey he had made for a few of his buddies ahead of the World Cup. “This is the last one I have,” he said. It combined the flags of Mexico, Canada, and the United States. On the front was a custom crest that read, “UNITED NORTH AMERICA FIFA WORLD CUP 2026.”
He understood. It was about being together. And that was how it all started.
Throughout the rest of that first week, I would see and experience so much more. Over 50 people standing on top of homes for a view of the game. Fans hanging from traffic lights. Live bands and zapateados. Knives going through flags and attempts to burn them in protest. A solo elderly fan in tears and on her knees. Meals and drinks with friends old and new. And an unforgettably close call while looking for a bathroom! S%*t!
That first week really set the tone for the rest of the trip. I was one week in and already in love.
Film rolls shot: 57
Locations: Koreatown · San Pedro · Beverly Hills · Persian Square · Inglewood · Los Angeles, California
Part 2
Coming September 28th.
Film rolls shot: 22
Locations: Bronx, New York City · Brooklyn, New York City · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Central Falls, Rhode Island · Boston, Massachusetts
Part 3
Coming October 5th.
Film rolls shot: 19
Locations: Bronx, New York City · East Rutherford, New Jersey · Manchester, New Hampshire · Nashua, New Hampshire · Ironbound, New Jersey · Astoria, New York City · Queens, New York City
Part 4
Coming October 12th.
Film rolls shot: 3
Locations: Washington, DC · Tysons, Virginia
Part 5
Coming October 19th.
Film rolls shot: 56
Locations: Midtown, New York City · Queens, New York City · Central Park, New York City · Coney Island, New York City · Times Square, New York City · East Rutherford, New Jersey
