KANSAS CITY, Mo. — When global soccer icon Lionel Messi and defending World Cup champion Argentina took the field at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium to fight for a semifinal spot against underdog Switzerland in a Women’s World Cup quarterfinal, there was no bigger celebrity spectator than the character who turned American soccer into a global pop culture phenomenon: Ted Lasso.
The beloved fictional head coach of AFC Richmond may exist only on Apple TV+, but actor Jason Sudeikis — the Overland Park, Kansas native who brings Lasso to life — turned the historic match into a massive public watch party Saturday night at CPKC Stadium, located just minutes from downtown Kansas City. The event comes just weeks ahead of the hotly anticipated August 5 premiere of *Ted Lasso*’s fourth season, which has been on hiatus since the third season wrapped on May 31, 2023.
Sudeikis, who has retained deep ties to his Kansas City hometown even after his rise to Hollywood fame, says working on the hit soccer-centered comedy-drama has only deepened his lifelong appreciation for the sport. “As much as we loved football before we got started on the show, I’ve grown to love it even more as we’ve gotten more immersed in global soccer culture,” Sudeikis explained to attendees Saturday.
For the upcoming fourth season, the production made a deliberate choice to film much of the new content across the Kansas City metro area. That includes on-location shoots at CPKC Stadium, the purpose-built home of National Women’s Soccer League side Kansas City Current. The venue made an ideal spot for the thousands-strong watch party, as the new season of *Ted Lasso* centers its main plotline on the launch of AFC Richmond’s new professional women’s team — a plot thread that was first teased by Juno Temple’s character, publicist Keeley Jones, in the final moments of season 3, when the show’s renewal for a fourth run was still uncertain.
Temple, who attended Saturday’s event wearing a teal Kansas City Current jersey, called the timing of the World Cup and the new season’s premiere a perfect alignment to shine a spotlight on women’s soccer. “It feels like a perfect moment to be talking about women’s football, and representing it — not that I play, obviously,” Temple said. “So that’s first and foremost. I hope that’s something people really treasure. And I also hope people enjoy the journey each of the characters are going on.”
Beyond the show’s upcoming plot, the *Ted Lasso* cast says the series has quietly helped grow interest in soccer among American audiences over the course of its run. Brendan Hunt, who serves as both a writer for the show and portrays the quiet, beloved Coach Beard, notes that attitudes toward soccer in the U.S. have shifted dramatically since the country last hosted the World Cup in 1994.
“I’ve certainly heard from a lot of people that didn’t care about soccer at all until they started to watch *Ted Lasso*,” Hunt said. Comparing the 1994 tournament to the current event, Hunt added: “As opposed to 1994 when we had the World Cup and people knew even less about soccer, including me, people were ready for it. Yes, the world has come with this great energy, but we were more ready to be aware of their presence, and reciprocate energy. And we’re not as far behind as far as the sport’s popularity as it’s made out to be, and this World Cup is showing it.”
As for the happy coincidence of a World Cup quarterfinal featuring Argentina landing in Kansas City just weeks before *Ted Lasso*’s new season drops? Hunt laughed off the coincidence, hinting that the alignment may have been more intentional than it seems. “Luck of the draw,” he said with a wry smile. “The actual show about to come out after the World Cup? I think someone manipulated that. Might have been a corporate choice.”