This Tiny New Jersey Town Known As ‘Soccer Town, USA’ Sits Just Minutes From The 2026 FIFA World Cup Final

For a place just across the river from Manhattan, Kearny, New Jersey has quietly shaped something enormous. Long before packed stadiums, global broadcasts, and World Cup watch parties took over American sports culture, this small Hudson County town was already living and breathing soccer . Not as a trend...not as a spectacle...literally as daily life. That’s why Kearny isn’t casually nicknamed “Soccer Town, USA.” It earned it — over more than a century of immigrant history, factory teams, youth leagues, and World Cup–level talent that helped define the American game . And with the 2026 FIFA World Cup heading to the U.S. — and the Final set to be played just a few miles away at MetLife Stadium — Kearny is suddenly back in the global spotlight as one of the sport’s most meaningful hometowns . How a mill town became “Soccer Town, USA” ----------------------------------------- Kearny’s soccer story begins in the late 1800s, when Scottish and Irish immigrants arrived to work in textile factories like the Clark Thread Company and Nairn Linoleum. Along with their tools and trade skills, they brought football — or, as local papers once called it, “the Scotch game.” Mill workers formed company-backed teams, fields filled up fast, and competition quickly became serious . One club in particular, Kearny ONT (short for “Our New Thread”), dominated early American soccer, winning the first three American Football Association Cups in the 1880s. This wasn’t backyard recreation either and weren’t just some silly little games they were playing against cross-town teams. These teams competed nationally , helping lay the foundation for organized soccer in the United States at a time when the sport barely existed elsewhere in the country. On Thanksgiving Day in 1885, Kearny even hosted what’s widely considered the first-ever unofficial international soccer match in the U.S. , when a local side faced off against a team from Canada. The match took place at Clark Field — land that today sits near one of the town’s most famous landmarks, Tops Diner. American international soccer, quite literally, started here. A nickname that stuck — and never stopped being true ---------------------------------------------------- As decades passed, soccer remained deeply embedded in Kearny’s identity. Clubs like the Kearny Scots rose to national prominence in the early 20th century, dominating leagues and earning championship titles well into the 1930s and ’40s. By the time the late 20th century rolled around, the town had already built a reputation as one of the most soccer-obsessed places in the country . When U.S. men’s national team players began emerging from this one square-mile community in the 1980s and ’90s , the nickname “Soccer Town, USA” stopped feeling like a slogan and started feeling like fact. Kearny wasn’t just producing players — it was producing *leaders*. The three kids who changed American soccer ------------------------------------------ Any conversation about Kearny inevitably leads to three names: John Harkes, Tony Meola, and Tab Ramos . All three grew up in the same town , all three came through the same youth soccer system , and all three went on to represent the United States on the world’s biggest stage. Harkes became the first American to play in the English Premier League . Meola, with his iconic ponytail and fearless presence, became the face of U.S. Soccer in the 1990s . Ramos brought creativity and flair to the midfield during the 1994 World Cup , when the U.S. hosted the tournament for the first time. Together, they helped carry American soccer into a new, more “modern” era — and they all came from Kearny . A living soccer culture you can still feel ------------------------------------------ What makes Kearny special isn’t just its past — it’s how visible that history still is. The Scots American Athletic Club , founded in 1931, remains one of the town’s most important gathering places. The local hangout’s walls are lined with vintage team photos, jerseys, and memorabilia tracing more than a century of local soccer, while on match days, it becomes a multi-generational hub for watch parties, where longtime locals and newer immigrant communities gather under the same roof. Throughout the town, youth leagues continue to fill local fields, high school games still draw crowds, and pickup matches still pop up the way they always have. Why Kearny matters even more ahead of the 2026 World Cup -------------------------------------------------------- With the FIFA World Cup returning to North America in 2026 , Kearny is positioned for a rare kind of homecoming. MetLife Stadium — which will host the Final — sits less than five miles away from “Soccer Town, USA.” While fans from around the world flood into the region, Kearny offers something the stadium itself can’t: context . This is where American soccer learned how to exist long before it was polished, profitable, or televised . Beyond the game, Kearny is a great escape beyond its sporting heritage. It’s a compact, working-class riverside town shaped by waves of immigration — once largely Scottish and Irish, now deeply influenced by Portuguese, Spanish, and Latin American communities. Bakeries, casual restaurants, and neighborhood bars reflect that mix, making it easy to explore before or after a match. Getting here from NYC is simple, too. Kearny sits near NJ Transit lines, PATH connections, and major highways , making it an easy half-day or evening trip — especially during tournament season. In a World Cup year, it’s the kind of place worth visiting *before* diving into the world’s biggest sporting spectacle. Source: https://secretnyc.co/soccer-town-usa-kearny-nj-fifa-world-cup-2026/