NCA Tigers build World Cup excitement for Prince George's County kids

Mauricio Casillas spent time at the NCA Tigers Football Club in Prince George’s County, where children, coaches and families are already treating the World Cup as more than a TV event. On neighborhood fields, the academy is building enthusiasm for soccer one practice at a time, giving Prince George’s kids a place to learn teamwork, discipline and belonging while the tournament looms in the background.

That local energy lands in a county where youth sports already play a larger public role. Prince George’s County Government says its sports programs provide athletic outlets for county youth, including the Prince George’s County Police Athletic League, which it describes as a juvenile crime prevention program built around mentoring, educational, athletic and recreational activities. The county’s public schools also list boys’ and girls’ soccer as a spring middle-school sport, putting the game inside the county’s school athletics pipeline as well as its club system.

The access question is just as important as the excitement. Prince George’s County is planning a free two-day World Cup Festival at the Prince George’s County Sports and Learning Complex in Landover on June 12 and 13, 2026, a public celebration meant to pull residents into the tournament mood even if they never get near a stadium seat. In a county where travel teams, club fees and field access can shape who stays in the sport, free events like that matter because they widen the doorway instead of narrowing it.

The academy focus also fits a broader pattern across local soccer. Maurice Casillas has spoken with FCI Soccer Academy founder and president Raul Sosa about rising World Cup anticipation, and U.S. Soccer has highlighted Maryland State Youth Soccer Association’s Let’s Play! program, a free after-school soccer initiative for Title I and community elementary schools across Maryland. Together, those efforts point to a common goal: using the World Cup to push more children into organized play, not just passively into fandom.

For Prince George’s County, the real measure will be whether that excitement translates into more kids on fields, more school and community programs that stay affordable, and more families able to see soccer as part of everyday life. The World Cup is global, but in Prince George’s, its lasting value will be local.