World Cup: Kansas City

Is Kansas City ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup? KCUR is covering how this massive event is changing our city — for the tournament and beyond.

KU became a star during the World Cup. Can the university attract more international students now?

Published July 11, 2026 at 4:00 AM CDT

Aiden Droge/Kansas Athletics

Algerian Men’s National Team touring Kansas Athletics Facilities

Algeria's stay in Lawrence put the University of Kansas on the map for an international audience. KU is working to leverage that awareness to increase enrollment.

LAWRENCE, Kansas – Lawrence saw the 2026 World Cup as an opportunity to welcome international visitors. The outpouring of enthusiasm for the city’s embrace of Algeria and its fans has put the University of Kansas on a global stage.

When the Algerian men’s national soccer team toured Allen Fieldhouse last month, KU Athletics posted an Instagram video captioned “thanks for stopping by, Team Algeria!” The post received 44,600 likes.

A video of Algerian star Riyad Mahrez scoring the equalizing goal in the team's June 27 match against Austria garnered 101,000 likes. According to Deputy Athletics Director Jason Booker, the videos became the most-viewed social media content in the department’s history.

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Social media is a crucial path for a college brand to engage fans — and potential students — who live in other countries and speak different languages.

Patrick Crakes, principal of Crakes Media and former Fox Sports senior vice president, describes social media as a “discovery platform” that solves the “what to watch” problem.

Brands’ social accounts can deliver content immediately to a user’s feed, so casual fans who might never have sought out a Kansas basketball or soccer game on their own are now seeing KU content.

“Most people are probably interacting with the World Cup [rather than] watching much of the events, but they’re interacting across all these discovery platforms where they learn about the players, the teams, the culture, the big events,” Crakes said. “They see it and that’s enough.”

Jan Boehmer, a professor of sport management at the University of Michigan, said social media helps universities overcome that first step to take their teams global: simply making people aware of the school, especially schools with sports that have little history in international markets, like college football.

International students don’t have some of the factors that pull in U.S.-based students, like living close by or having alumni as family members.

“In absence of these ‘natural’ connections, algorithmic curation on social media platforms can play a major role in discovery of new sports and teams by identifying consumers that are likely to resonate,” said Boehmer.

Social media leans into game highlights and behind-the-scenes content, which Boehmer said can make sports look more exciting and build a level of closeness that makes it easier for people to buy in.

KU Athletics saw its opportunity when international delegations began inquiring about the university and the city’s resources.

FIFA members toured Rock Chalk Park in fall 2024 and praised the quality of the pitch and equipped facilities. The university’s International Affairs department and accessible campus interpreters made Lawrence a desirable home base for a global team.

“When you have an international team that says your facilities are amazing when you’re already talking to potential soccer recruits, that makes an impact,” Booker said.

Jayhawks at Wembley Stadium

KU is already the Big 12 Conference’s most valuable athletic brand at $620 million, according to a 2025 CNBC report . That figure puts the school at 39th in the country, still trailing the University of Missouri.

The KU enrollment team is already looking to capitalize on the success of its World Cup hosting stint, exploring how to recruit students from Algeria and Northern Africa now that the brand has established a foothold there, Booker said.

Another opportunity in London this fall allows the university to spread the Jayhawk name to Europe. This September, KU football will play its first-ever game at Wembley Stadium in London against Arizona State. The matchup will be the first college football game held at Wembley, and the Jayhawks will play as the home team. Adidas, a partner for both schools, will sponsor the game.

Booker said KU aims to create new fans in the European market and host activities at the Adidas flagship store in London featuring Adidas-sponsored athletes.

Successful sports programs often act as a “front porch” for universities, exposing them to new audiences, which could drive enrollment, Crakes said.

Experts debate how effectively athletics branding increases enrollment numbers, but Boehmer said it drives the schools’ global appeal.

“If students later think about potential college destinations, having such an initial connection through athletics might serve as a mental shortcut,” Boehmer said. “It might also open up the recruitment of international student athletes, generating further traction for the university brand in international markets.”

The U.S. is one of four countries to successfully bid for the 2031 Women’s World Cup , and KU Athletics hopes to host a team at Rock Chalk Park. Booker said the university is still “on the surface” of understanding how the global seeds planted during this summer’s tournament will grow, but the upsides are obvious.

Ultimately, Booker said he hopes international visitors don’t just remember the quality of facilities, but also the spirit of the community .

“I hope they take away that it’s a community that embraces international communities and that we are friendly, down to earth, [and] like to find ways for people to have good experiences,” Booker said. “That kind of Midwest nice and layering into that … what that means for bigger picture opportunity and growth for Lawrence and for the university.”

KCUR is partnering with students at the University of Kansas' William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communication for coverage of this summer's World Cup.

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Venus Beland is a University of Kansas senior.

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