For one afternoon, Toyota Arena became the Inland Empire’s home for the FIFA World Cup Final.
Thousands of fans wearing jerseys ranging from Spain and Argentina to Mexico and the USA gathered for the region’s only official FIFA watch party, where cheers e choed throughout the arena to watch soccer’s biggest match unfold on the big screen.
Organized by GOCAL and the City of Ontario, the free event offered much more than a place to watch the match. Families were able to explore food vendors and interactive activities that turned the championship into a community celebration.
Among the day’s most popular attractions was the Empire Strykers Kids Zone. As a community partner for the event, the professional indoor soccer club gave young fans the opportunity to kick the ball around with players, grab balloon animals, get their faces painted, and create memories of the 2026 World Cup.
“You know, we love soccer. We bring our daughters here, our nephews, our sons, and everything. The whole family is just doing good and staying away from the heat. So this provides us like some shade and some… a good place to get together.”
The event welcomed both lifelong soccer supporters, as well as first-time fans, to create a space where neighbors could gather around a shared passion for one of the world’s biggest sport events without leaving the Inland Empire.
Throughout the afternoon, families explored around the arena with memorabilia in hand, proudly sharing score predictions and cheering on their teams.
“Spain 2-0.”
“It’s Spain 2-0”
“3-2”
“4-2”
“Spain, obviously.”
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup final fueling excitement for soccer across North America, organizers hoped the event would do more than celebrate just one match. They hoped the event would strengthen connections across the community and give families a place to bond on local grounds.
“Honestly, we brought like nine other family members over here, so it's a whole group over here. So we're really excited to be united together, especially here hosting in the United States. It's really important, like we never thought it's gonna happen. So it feels really great out here. So I want to support it with everyone.”
While the final crowned Spain as their champion on the field, Sunday’s watch party showed you don’t have to be in the stadium to feel the excitement, culture, and community of the World Cup.
For KVCR, I’m Maile Palacios
