By Mary Angel Castillo

It’s a chilly late night in the cozy restaurant Paracas in Berlin, Germany. The smell of empañadas fills the air, and all eyes are locked on the big screen on the wall. A young woman wearing her Colombia soccer jersey alternates her attention between the man next to her and the broadcast of Colombia and Switzerland competing to advance from the World Cup round of 16. One team will go on to the round of eight, while the other will go home. 

More than a quarter of Berlin’s residents are foreign nationals, or 1 million out of a total 2025 population of 3.7 million, according to the Immigrant Times. Events like World Cup brings fans of different nationalities and cultures together. Flags hang outside apartments, and people proudly wear jerseys of their home countries.

For Valentina Botero, the game is not just a simple sporting event, but a chance to express her cultural identity. Botero said she was born in Colombia and moved to Berlin a year ago. Like many immigrants to Germany’s bustling capital, Botero said she lives her life in a new country with her heart still connected to her birthplace. The World Cup is a perfect excuse to wrap herself in her Colombian national identity and cheer on Los Cafeteros, she said, while living in her adopted Germany.

Football connects past, present

For some, the sport is tied to happy childhood memories.

Playing pool at Marooush, a small hookah lounge, with his friends, Abdallah kept an eye on the game. Abdallah, who asked that his last name not be used, says the Berlin lounge, full of people drinking, smoking, and watching football, reminds him of home.

He said he was nine when his native Iraq won the Asian Cup in 2007. He watched the game surrounded by cousins and siblings, cheering for his country. At school the next day, the match was all his friends talked about. Abdallah said he remembers the delicious food his mother prepared for the family gathering in celebration that night.

Despite 2007 being a time of national turmoil for Iraq, the day after the Asian Cup victory, people walked through the streets smiling, car horns blaring as they greeted one another.

Although Abdallah is 28 now and living in Germany, he said he can still feel the thrill of watching his national team.

Melting pot

During the World Cup in Berlin, people of different countries and cultures came together to celebrate the biggest sporting event in football, even if they were rivals.

Paula sat in a small room at the FC Magnet Bar in Berlin, a sports club where crowds regularly overflowed from the sidewalk into the streets on game nights. She positioned herself next to the big screen amidst the bustle, so she wouldn’t miss a play. She sipped her beer, wearing her Spain national team jersey, sharing memories as she waited for her beloved La Roja to play France in the quarterfinals.

Paula, who also asked that her last name not be used, said she was born and raised in Valencia, Spain. She carries in her heart memories of going to the local stadium with her Dad to watch games. Growing up, it was her favorite activity, she said.

When she left Spain in 2020 and moved to Germany to work as a finance manager, she said she struggled to find a community in Berlin.

At the same sports bar, a young woman proudly wore a France jersey. Although there were a sea of colors and emblems in the room, Dinah stood out because her eyes lit up with each French attack on goal. She said she remembers while growing up in France how her best friend’s father would take them to the football stadium.

Preparing to watch the match against Spain, fandom mixed with nostalgia. Dinah said the best part of watching a match in Berlin is showing her national identity and where she came from, no matter what the outcome of the game.

“People can just enjoy watching a game together, cheer for their team and still have fun together” she said.

Football and fear

Ugur, who is from Turkey, sat silently in the hookah bar. As glasses clinked and a heavy shroud of smoke hung in the air, he pulled for Egypt to beat heavily favored Argentina in the round of 16 match. Watching Egypt lose, the smoke and smell of alcohol sent him back to his childhood, where football didn’t always lead to happy moments.

He said he grew up in a violent household. Though football meant enjoying time with family and sitting on the carpet together to cheer on their country, for Ugur, he said those moments were aldo filled with tension and fear. During the 90 minutes of a match, Ugur’s father seemed like a stranger, he said, such that he watch terrified that if his father’s team lost his father would reach for his belt to release his anger on the family.

Even though Ugur’s childhood memories of football are painful, he said today he is creating new, positive memories. As a successful businessman in Berlin, he said he enjoys going out for drinks and watching matches with friends.