A dozen or so local Latino men and teens play pickup soccer at American Legion Field in East Boston in the rain, using orange cones and old trash bins for goal posts.
One player, César Fuentes, takes the ball to the chest and kicks it over to a teammate.
"Football is a passion. It's a religion," Fuentes said during a break in play. "The Latinos in Massachusetts, in Boston — the parks, the fields, it's the place where we all gather together."
Fuentes and other Latinos around the state are about to have a new opportunity to celebrate the sport when the FIFA World Cup kicks off June 11. Massachusetts will host seven matches at Gillette Stadium, renamed Boston Stadium for the tournament.
While World Cup tickets are out of range financially for a lot of families, the excitement is palpable across many communities, including East Boston, where homes feature wall posters of soccer greats Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappé. Young children trade stickers with the faces of famous players. Teenagers chat about World Cup matches in parks. Restaurant owners plan large events celebrating teams that locals revere.
"The World Cup is a very important event for us," said Fuentes, who plans to watch with friends and family even though his native El Salvador's national team didn't qualify for the tournament. "For us Latinos, we feel it in our pores. It runs in our blood."
Juan Rodriguez, who's Peruvian and plays pickup soccer with Fuentes, added that this World Cup is especially notable not only because it's close to home, but also because it's the last one for three legends of his generation — Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.
The tournament comes as many Latino immigrants remain uneasy about federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. Residents say the World Cup will bring them much-needed joy after spending the last year and a half living in fear of ICE.
The excitement can be felt in East Boston's many Latino restaurants. At a Pollo Campero fast food restaurant, for instance, a cashier gives out free World Cup tournament brackets featuring a chicken kicking a soccer ball.
Many owners of these restaurants are either immigrants or first generation children of immigrants. They grew up playing and can now take part in the economic opportunity of showing the game at their businesses.
Johan Medina runs El Peñol, which has locations in East Boston, Revere and Brookline. Medina said he plans on showing all the games at his restaurants, but is especially excited for Colombia's matches. That's where Medina learned to play soccer before he immigrated to the United States at age 7 and started working at the East Boston restaurant owned by his grandmother, whose picture he keeps above his office desk.
"Here we have two huge TVs. ... We have Colombian beer, so people like it a lot. The World Cup is something big," he said. "It's almost like a Super Bowl."
Aldo Callejas owns La Hacienda, a Mexican and Salvadoran restaurant in East Boston's Central Square. He's partnering with tequila maker Don Julio to host promotional events involving free giveaways of swag and tequila.
In preparation for the World Cup, Callejas has had to market his bar events, order extra food and purchase bigger TVs. He expects this year's tournament to attract crowds like others in the past.
"Every World Cup that La Hacienda has been open, whether it was in South Africa or Qatar, it's been bananas here," he said. "Over here, it's South American and Central American immigrants, and soccer is king."
Part of the reason why Latino residents in East Boston say they love soccer is the sport's accessibility. Kilder Cardona, who's Colombian and owns Barney's Grill, a beloved soccer bar, said in many poorer countries, people don't have the luxury to play different types of sports. Soccer is the exception.
"What do you really need to play soccer?" he said. "A soccer ball. You can play barefoot, you can [play] on the beach. ... It's one of those sports I think that you can play anywhere and anytime. That's why Latinos love it."
About half a mile away from Cardona's restaurant, 12-year-old Juan Martin Gonzalez organizes stickers, or "laminas," into a special FIFA-branded album — called an album panini — on the countertop of his mother's money transfer shop. She let him put a sign outside the shop inviting people to come in and trade stickers with him.
He points out the faces of players he idolizes: Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé. He's ecstatic that his dad is taking him to Miami to watch the Colombia vs. Portugal game. With the heart of a sportscaster, Gonzalez explains why soccer is the best sport.
"The World Cup is something special," he said, moving the stickers around. "I mean, you can compare the American football and basketball championships, but the passion for soccer is very different."
Still, despite the joy among U.S.-born Latinos and immigrants, concerns about federal immigration authorities lurk. That's especially true in East Boston and surrounding cities where a lot of ICE arrests have happened. The federal government has said the Department of Homeland Security will play a significant role in security at matches, but has not addressed its plans for communities during the matches.
Fidel Maltez is city manager of Chelsea — a majority Latino city — which will have community watch gatherings for its "Fiesta de Fútbol" throughout the World Cup. He said there was one question that local residents asked over and over again as the city was planning the event: "Can you assure me that the World Cup viewing parties will not be a target of immigration enforcement?"
"It is something that we have unfortunately had to talk about," he said.
Cardona said he believes people are prioritizing soccer over fear in a way that's like taking a "deep breath." He hopes ICE leaves immigrants alone and lets them enjoy the wonders of the World Cup.
"I feel like you don't have a valid reason just to walk into my business to either discriminate or pick out and single out people that are enjoying food and a beverage in a relaxing environment watching soccer," he said. "We're accepting of everybody. This is a big melting pot, East Boston and this country."
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