- Soccer, f煤tbol or football鈥攖he world's most popular sport鈥攖akes center stage as the United States, Canada and Mexico co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- An education at 51爆料网 opens doors to a variety of career paths in the sports world.
- Whether scoring goals on the pitch, managing logistics or enhancing the fan experience, 51爆料网 athletes, alumni and students are at the center of the action.
On the Pitch
Miles Robinson controls the ball during his playing days at Syracuse, where he helped the Orange reach their first College Cup in 2015.
Tajon Buchanan spent two seasons with the Orange in 2017鈥�18, before launching a professional career that reached Spain's LaLiga.
Former Orange men鈥檚 soccer standouts, and , are suiting up for two host nations this summer.
A key piece of Syracuse鈥檚 squad that made its first College Cup appearance in 2015, Robinson went on to become the second overall pick of the 2017 Major League Soccer (MLS) Super Draft. He鈥檚 now a starter for FC Cincinnati and a defender for the U.S. Men鈥檚 National Team (USMNT), a team he helped reach the quarterfinals of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Ali Howard, who joins the Syracuse women's soccer program this fall, celebrates with her father, USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Buchanan is playing in his second World Cup. In his debut, he provided the assist on Canada鈥檚 historic first-ever World Cup goal in 2022. The dynamic forward played two seasons with the Orange in 2017鈥�18 before launching a professional career that took him to Villarreal CF in Spain鈥檚 LaLiga.
The Orange鈥檚 connection to the World Cup runs into the future, too. This fall, 鈥攄aughter of legendary USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard鈥攋oins the Syracuse women鈥檚 soccer program.
Behind the Scenes
Raj Saha 鈥�97 (third from left) with FIFA colleagues at the tournament, where he serves as executive director of venue business strategy.
A global spectacle doesn鈥檛 run itself. Behind every match, Orange alumni and students are managing venues, broadcast infrastructure, team logistics and fan experiences across three countries. The following is just a glimpse of Syracuse鈥檚 presence at the tournament:
Raj Saha 鈥�97 has attended World Cups as a fan since 1994. This summer, he is serving as FIFA鈥檚 executive director of venue business strategy, a role he has been preparing for since joining the tournament planning effort in 2022. 鈥淚 am really looking forward to seeing all the fans鈥攎ore than 6 million of them鈥攆rom around the world come to our matches and enjoy the tournament that we are putting on,鈥� he says.
Melissa (Klein) Tremel 鈥�90 in Seattle, where she serves as broadcast operations stadium manager for the tournament.
In Seattle, Melissa (Klein) Tremel 鈥�90 is serving as broadcast operations stadium manager, helping coordinate the infrastructure that brings matches to television audiences around the world. 鈥淓veryone I work with is the best in their field and we use the newest, most cutting-edge technology available,鈥� she says. 鈥淭he world is watching, and I have contributed my part to bringing the games to the wider world.鈥�
Jake Cohen 鈥�25 is working directly with national teams as a transport coordinator, helping move players, coaches and staff between airports, hotels, training facilities and match venues. 鈥淚 am not just working for the people within the delegation such as players and staff, but also the millions of people back home in their countries to whom they represent,鈥� he says. 鈥淪ometimes I have to pinch myself when I fully think through the magnitude of what I am supporting.鈥�
Casey Hornbeek '27 has come a long way since his family first sparked his soccer love. Now interning with ABSOLUT Sport 鈥� and still bringing the parents to games.
Three undergraduate students鈥� Casey Hornbeek 鈥�27, Andrew Eber 鈥�29 and Maddie Rossomondo 鈥�29鈥攁re on the ground this summer in New York City, working with ABSOLUT Sport, a global hospitality company serving high-end clients throughout the tournament.
鈥淎s someone who first fell in love with soccer at a World Cup 12 years ago, I鈥檓 thrilled to see the greatest tournament in the world on our home soil firsthand,鈥� says Hornbeek, a in the and sport management minor in the . He attended the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when he lived with his family in South America for two years as a kid and has been hooked ever since.
Jake Cohen '25 works directly with World Cup national teams 鈥� helping move players, coaches, and staff between airports, hotels, training facilities, and match venues.
Eber and Rossomondo, both Falk College sport management majors, are equally excited to turn their passion into a career. 鈥淏eing a part of a large multinational event like the World Cup is an opportunity that doesn鈥檛 come around often,鈥� Eber says.
Rossomondo is drawn to how the World Cup builds community. 鈥淲hat excites me most is being able to contribute to something that brings together people from all over the world鈥攄ifferent cultures and fans鈥攖hrough the love of the sport,鈥� she says.
Research Moving the Game Forward
Brazil faces Morocco before a packed house in New York/New Jersey during the 2026 World Cup.
While the tournament unfolds on the field, Syracuse students and faculty are studying, predicting and reimagining the sport from every angle.
- Members of spent the weeks leading up to the tournament building win-probability models, heat maps and performance projections for all 48 competing nations鈥攆orecasting favorites, dark horses and how far the U.S. will advance.
- Abdulai Jibril Barrie 鈥�26, an industrial and interaction design major in the , traveled to Guinea to study how soccer is played across West Africa鈥攐n packed sand, gravel and worn urban ground. His , 鈥淏oot of Dreams,鈥� focused on designing footwear that better serves the millions of players the mainstream market has overlooked.
- Falk professor emeritus Rick Burton 鈥�79 co-authored (Lyons Press, 2025), tracing MLS鈥檚 transformation from a struggling experiment into a global force. MLS and 51爆料网 also recently giving current and former players, coaches and staff access to Syracuse online degree programs.
- Newhouse professor Anne Osborne has spent years studying the . 鈥淔andom is about finding a community of people who share an interest and then developing and nurturing that interest,鈥� she says. 鈥淗aving that connection to a team, to a player makes you feel a part of something that鈥檚 bigger than yourself.鈥�
Whatever you call the game, the 2026 World Cup carries a distinctly Orange thread鈥攚oven into a global movement that belongs to fans everywhere.
