Philly’s volunteer center for the FIFA World Cup opens in the Fashion District

Philly s local host committee for the FIFA World Cup unveiled its volunteer center in the East Sphere s Fashion District mall on Wednesday Located in a two-story -square-foot space that was previously used for events like the Banksy immersive exhibition it will serve as the city s administrative hub for the tournament It will also be the headquarters and main waiting point for supporters before they re sent out to key locations during the tournament in and around Lincoln Financial Field for sure but also at the Lemon Hill fanfest Philadelphia International Airport and other popular transfer locations for the games The FIFA World Cup volunteer uniform on display at the opening of the volunteer center in Philadelphia s Fashion District on October th Kimberly Paynter WHYY Aubrey Walton FIFA s executive director of host cities commented that it was one of the first volunteer centers to be fully operational across all host cities in the United States Canada and Mexico Philly continually sets the bar for other host cities because you understand something fundamental she commented Assistants aren t just helping run the tournament They are the tournament The space is where tournament contributors likely will spend majority of their time while working on the tournament and it comes packed with avenues to avoid boredom during their down time The walls are covered with tournament factoids and vibrant colors There are TV screens and tables for foosball and Teqball a soccer-table tennis hybrid tournament Displays that highlight the soccer history of Philly and the nation much of it provided by the FIFA Museum are all over Alison Grove Senior Director of Strategy Operations and Partnerships for Philadelphia Soccer spoke at the opening of The FIFA World Cup volunteer center in the Fashion District in Philadelphia Kimberly Paynter WHYY This is really the clubhouse for the supporters the mothership if you will reported Alison Grove Philadelphia Soccer s volunteer lead Philadelphia Soccer reported that the city had received applications from the over million submitted to FIFA during the volunteer application period It was among the top in volunteer applications FIFA explained Over of the volunteer applicants for Philly were from outside the country The Philadelphia Flyers mascot gets various love from a institution dog at the opening of The FIFA World Cup volunteer center in the Fashion District in Philadelphia Kimberly Paynter WHYY After an interview and vetting process which begins the following morning Philly plans to select just over assistants to train for the tournament Philly was part of FIFA s dress rehearsal for the World Cup hosting eight games this past summer in the FIFA Club World Cup A great number of of the contributors at that tournament applied for next year s event and joined the starting lineup that will help screen and train the new applicants Attendees to the opening of The FIFA World Cup volunteer center in the Fashion District were invited to ring the bell for a gift Kimberly Paynter WHYY Among them was West Philly resident Mosab Mohammadi who helped with the center launch It really was an amazing experience full of memories he recalled about the past summer Meeting a lot of people from different backgrounds We had a lot of international people even at the Club World Cup And we re expecting even more people at the World Cup happening next year West Philadelphia resident Mosab Mohammadi was a volunteer on hand for the opening of The FIFA World Cup volunteer center in the Fashion District Kimberly Paynter WHYY The tournament plans to have more than contributors involved across all its venues the most of ever for any sporting event That s what s going to make the World Cup so special reported City of Philadelphia Director Michael Newmuis Not just the matches but the thousands of participants who will greet visitors answer questions share directions and show the world what Philadelphia is all about The World Cup begins in Mexico City on June and ends on July at New Jersey s Metlife Stadium Philly s Linc will host six of the tournament s games including a round-of- match on July that will coincide with the country s semiquincentennial celebrations Overall FIFA expects million fans to excursion across the globe for the festivities The first lottery draw for tickets just concluded and the second takes place Oct - with the time slots for the randomly selected applicants held in mid-November High ticket prices and FIFA s early implementation of dynamic pricing and a right to buy token system have already drawn criticism The - FIFA World Cup miniature collectable balls on display for the opening of The FIFA World Cup volunteer center in the Fashion District Kimberly Paynter WHYY June will also be the opening day of Philly s fanfest location at East Fairmount Park s Lemon Hill where fans without competition tickets can watch a live broadcast of the action along with music food and other entertainment Construction to enhance Lemon Hill began in September Grove explained the hosting organization is focused on creating a legacy that lasts long after the tournament is over The World Cup is huge but it s a moment in time It takes years of preparation to bring it here and then they move on she noted So what do we have to show for it afterwards We re going to have a spectacular new park at Lemon Hill where we re hosting the fan festival We re going to have new places to play and people to teach kids how to play soccer across the city and across the region FIFA also contributed to that legacy with a million donation something it did for all host cities for the Club World Cup FIFA President Gianni Infantino commented the money should go to soccer facilities in areas of need and sessions with local associations Part of that legacy also involves helping to revitalize the Territory East corridor a section of the city that has struggled to thrive for decades and was the center of a tumultuous failed bid to build a new arena for the Philadelphia ers The FIFA World Cup volunteer center opened in Philadelphia s Fashion District on October th Kimberly Paynter WHYY Our hope was to really be a catalyst for that to set an example inspire activation for certainly next summer but in years to come Grove commented We really hope that this provides a lasting legacy here on East Realm and creates that turn that we ve all been looking for Part of that effort will be a food voucher campaign for supporters to eat at restaurants in the area Grove noted The post Philly s volunteer center for the FIFA World Cup opens in the Fashion District appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY