Fort Myers superfan's 32-year World Cup journey continues in June

FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK) — In one month, the United States will play its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and for one Southwest Florida superfan, soccer's biggest event has been a lifelong journey spanning nine World Cups, thousands of miles and one very memorable car.

Paul Kennedy's Volkswagen Bug has more than 200,000 miles on it, but to him, every single one tells a story. From the 1994 World Cup to today, this car has become a time capsule of soccer history.

Thirty-two years ago, Kennedy took a Volkswagen Beetle and turned it into a World Cup icon. He had owned the VW Bug since 1982, and he and his mother came up with the idea to paint it like a soccer ball.

"I have had the VW Bug since 1982. And my mother and I spoke about it. We're like, why don't we paint it like a soccer ball?" Kennedy said.

With sponsors, a fresh college degree and a dream, Kennedy and his brother hit the road for the 1994 World Cup. Kennedy went to every single stadium, traveling to Chicago, Detroit, New York, Dallas and Los Angeles—more than 20,000 miles and memories that never left him.

"We fished in the Atlantic Ocean, and we went fishing in the Pacific Ocean. We went to Mount Rushmore. We went to the Grand Canyon. We went to Yellowstone National Park. I mean, we hit everything you could imagine," Kennedy said.

That summer turned into a lifetime. Kennedy has been to every World Cup since 1994—nine World Cups in countries including France, South Africa and Qatar.

He has witnessed some of the biggest moments in U.S. soccer history. Kennedy said the different trips and seeing different countries is spectacular, but by far the best was 2002 when the U.S. beat Portugal, which he said they had no chance of beating.

With the U.S. just one month away from opening the 2026 World Cup, Kennedy's next adventure is already planned. He has spent close to $15,000 on the car itself just to get it ready for these trips, and this year, he will get to see the U.S. play Australia in Seattle, among other games he plans to attend.

"We will have two sponsors on the car. One of them is Alliant, and as a leading insurance broker and avid supporter of MLS, Alliant is ensuring goals and driving excitement for the World Cup across every market we visit, which will be a lot of them. We are going to nine different stadiums. We're thrilled to have Alliant along for the ride and, hopefully, keep scoring more goals. And then the other sponsor we have is Litke Management. They own a bunch of McDonald's in Long Island, New York. And as the logo says, they're second to none. A great management team and a great product," Kennedy said.

No matter how far the journey takes him, Kennedy said he feels blessed. "People say I'm lucky. No… I'm blessed. I'm just absolutely blessed," Kennedy said.

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