A Kansas native has captured the hearts of soccer fans across the United States with his touching gesture to the Algerian National Team.
Algeria has made the town of Lawrence, Kansas its homebase for the World Cup, which will kick off on Thursday with the soccer extravaganza taking over the US, Canada and Mexico this summer.
Lawrence, a town with a population of 96,700 on the outskirts of Kansas City, will host the team in between their Group J clashes against reigning champions Argentina, Austria and Jordan.
And the people of Lawrence could not be prouder. So much so, that they have thrown their support behind the Algerians over their own host nation.
One particular local was so enthusiastic to welcome the team to his hometown that his adorable reaction swiftly went viral among soccer fans online.
‘I want to say thank you to Algeria for choosing our hometown Lawrence, Kansas,’ the elderly gentleman told Algerian sports television channel, El Heddaf TV. ‘Welcome to the United States. Welcome to Kansas.’
A Kansas native has gone viral for his sweet support of the Algerian team for the World Cup
The Algerian team will call Lawrence, Kansas its homebase for the soccer tournament
He stood among many soccer fans at the DoubleTree hotel where the team had arrived on Sunday night and will stay throughout the tournament.
‘I came because I was so happy they chose our town for our base camp,’ he added.
‘We just know that Algeria is on the Mediterranean Sea and then the south part is in the Sahara desert,’ he said when asked what he knew about the north African nation. ‘And I know that it gained independence from France around the same time that I was born.
‘So, we don’t know too much but we still want to welcome you here.’
Other locals echoed his sentiment with one young fan citing Riyad Mahrez, the Algerian captain and former Manchester City star, as motive for backing the squad.
‘I just love to support them because if they want to come to Lawrence then we’ll support them. We want them to win and go far,’ he added.
The Algerian team was greeted by a crowd of more than 300 people when it pulled into its Lawrence hotel on Sunday, according to KMBC News.
The Algerians reportedly touched down at Kansas City International Airport after 10 pm local time and was escorted to Lawrence by LPD and other assisting agencies.
‘Doing an escort that large and that far takes a lot of moving parts, and so it went really well,’ Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart told the outlet. ‘We were really happy to get everybody here safely and had about 300 fans here welcoming the team.’
Algeria will kickstart its campaign against Argentina at Arrowhead Stadium on June 16
The town of Lawrence has turned out in full support of the team while hosting them
Lawrence police will be escorting the team wherever it goes throughout the next month or so.
‘We’ll be responsible for getting them from the hotels to the practice facility and then also from the hotel or practice facility up to Arrowhead for games,’ Lockhart said. ‘For the local movements, it’ll be mostly our department doing it. For the movements up to the stadium we’ll have support from our Topeka partners, Kansas Highway Patrol and Olathe, as well.’
The whole town of Lawrence has reportedly been decorated in green, red and white, with Algerian flags flying from local stores and bars.
Algeria will kickstart their World Cup campaign with a challenging fixture against defending champion Argentina on June 16 at Arrowhead Stadium – home of the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs – in nearby Kansas City.
