Alejandro Bedoya Welcomes FIFA World Cup to Philadelphia

How excited were you when approached to be a part of this video?

I was super excited. I know Philadelphia is known to have a lot of great athletes, celebrities, and people that are huge in this city. So, when they approached me, I didn't hesitate at all.

Now, as I'm not a player on the national team, being able to play in the World Cup, I'm a fan of the sport. And there's no bigger spectacle than the World Cup. And I love Philly. I've kind of made it my adopted home if you will. I was so happy to be a part of it.

You're not only a captain of the Philadelphia Union but a leader in the community. What do you think the atmosphere will be like in Philly for the match?

Ooh, look, I just got a little goosebumps just thinking about that. Soccer fans, in general, just bring so much passion, so I can't wait to have all of these people from around the world. There's so many different cultures represented within the city of Philadelphia as any of the other big markets have.

So, combine that with the already passionate, crazy, amazing Philadelphia fan base; I think you're just going to get electric atmospheres. Both in the stadium at Lincoln Financial Field, at the fan festival down in Lemon Hill, and just all over throughout the city. Recently, we had a Premier League summer series game here, and the energy was palpable throughout the city.

I live in downtown Center City, and the energy with the fans wearing all the different team jerseys, it's going to be amazing. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and there's no other event that has ascended upon Philadelphia as what will happen in the summer. So yeah, I get goosebumps just thinking about it and seeing all the energy, parties, and people enjoying themselves.

How do you think this upcoming World Cup will compare to previous editions?

This is the first World Cup that will have this new format, right? This will be the largest version of it. They expanded the tournament field of the teams participating to 48 compared to the previous additions of 32 teams. So that means that instead of 64 games, now we're going to have 104 games.

So, this iteration of this World Cup is going to be amazing. You're going to see so many more countries involved, many of them, and perhaps those who are going to be their first time in the World Cup. That's going to bring so many more fans and so many more people coming together, coming to the States, and coming to Philadelphia.

Philly's hosting six matches, and one of them includes that game on July 4th, which is going to be America's 250th birthday celebration. So you can just imagine the energy, the party, the scene happening around there about that, and just the fact that this World Cup includes three host countries, right?

So you've got Canada, America, and you got Mexico. So, within all these three countries, it is just a massive showcase for the sport of soccer in general, and then the fact that it's going to be the largest competition ever hosted by FIFA is going to make it that much more exciting.

Do you have any bold predictions or hot takes for the upcoming World Cup?

As an American, I really hope the U.S. can make it very, very far. So my bold take is the USA is going to surprise everybody and make it to the semis. I think the favorites are the typical nations that are always at the top of this, like Spain and Argentina.

We don't know if [Lionel] Messi or [Cristiano] Ronaldo are going to play in the World Cup, but I hope they do. But there are always surprises to be held. So, especially now, with this expanded field, there's going to be a surprise team in the later stages of the tournament.

Last question: What adidas shoes are you wearing off the pitch this summer?

I'm an older guy. I'm the grandpa in the locker room, right? So I'm not as up to date as some of the other guys, but I do enjoy adidas collabs with Gucci, with Fear of God. I actually have a connection to Fear of God. Ed Davis's uncle is Jerry Lorenzo. I like that.

I'm an art guy, so Daniel Arsham is an artist. I know he did a collab with adidas, and you know, I'm a partner in an agency, Iconoclast, based out of New York, which co-creates and does a lot of collaborations with big brands and sports brands.

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