Team Algeria showcases skills & support ahead of World Cup opener

A month of firsts at the University of Kansas continued to shine this week at Rock Chalk Park.

After watching the Kansas baseball program host both an NCAA Regional and Super Regional in back to back weeks — a feat that inspired KU officials to spruce up Hoglund Ballpark for its primetime showing — Rock Chalk Park became the base camp for Algeria's national soccer team ahead of the 2026 World Cup, which is hosted, in part, in nearby Kansas City.

The Algerian team and a horde of supporters and media members arrived earlier this week to much fan fare and celebration.

On Thursday, five days before Algeria's World Cup opener against Argentina in KCMO, the Algerians hosted a public practice that drew an estimated 2,500 fans to KU's soccer home.

The practice had more of a walk-through or shoot-around vibe, to borrow common phrases from other sports, but it also looked and felt a lot like those NCAA Tournament open practice sessions that Bill Self's teams have had so many of throughout the years.

Like those — no matter what city you're talking about — Thursday's fun at Rock Chalk Park brought out all kinds of Team Algeria supporters.

Some wore jerseys and flags and scarves. Others brought babies and family and there were hundreds of kids present, both native Algerians and from the Lawrence community.

The Algerian players stretched and ran laps, stood for the playing of their home country's National Anthem and interacted with fans in the stands, many of whom were overjoyed to get an up-close-and-personal look at the team before the big event.

After the hour-long practice was over, they hosted a kids clinic on the field, too, providing even more interaction between the players and the young people in attendance.

This year's World Cup, which is hosted jointly in cities throughout North America, began on Thursday in Mexico. Tuesday's Algeria-Argentina match will mark the first contest played at KC's Arrowhead Stadium, and the Algerians will travel to San Francisco for their second match before returning to Kansas and Kansas City for their third match of the group stage.

According to FIFA's world rankings, Algeria entered the 48-team tournament ranked 28th in the world.

For perspective, Team USA, which opens Friday night in Los Angeles against Paraguay, is ranked No. 17.

Given its proximity to Kansas City, which has become one of the hottest spots in U.S. soccer in recent years, and the presence of an impressive set of soccer facilities at Rock Chalk Park, it always looked good for Lawrence, and KU, to become a base camp for some country's team.

And school and city officials pushed hard to showcase all that Lawrence has to offer and present a convincing case that this community was worthy and deserving of being included in the World Cup fun.

FIFA and Algeria made the pairing official in mid-February and, while ready in many ways already, KU spent the next few months making sure that everything would be just right when Algeria arrived.

"Kansas Athletics is thrilled with our partners in Lawrence to be a base camp selection for the 2026 FIFA World Cup," said KU deputy athletic director Jason Booker when the official announcement was made in February. "Rock Chalk Park is a world-class facility that was validated by the countries that visited and in the level of interest we had in being a base camp. This summer offers a tremendous opportunity to showcase the broader university, Lawrence, Douglas County and our surrounding region. I am very appreciative of the tremendous collaboration across all parties to make this a reality."

While there has been plenty of action and activity in and around the Rock Chalk Park facilities throughout the week, Thursday's public practice session felt like a formal celebration of everything that led to this point.

The music, the sunshine, the smiles and so much Algerian red, white and green in the stands really gave the impression that this was a huge deal and that people of all ages were thrilled to be a part of it.

Here's a look at a few more photos from Thursday's fun.

Earlier in the day on Thursday, the Algerian team took in all kinds of memorable moments on a campus tour of some of KU's best and most popular sports facilities, including Allen Fieldhouse, David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium and Hoglund Ballpark.