Josh Shapiro can’t quit the World Cup.
The Pennsylvania governor, who is currently leaning into a Sports Guy™ persona as Democrats bid to connect better with American voters, has attended four matches, including Saturday’s Round of 16 showdown between Paraguay and France in Philadelphia — two more than his next closest potential 2028 rival, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Shapiro, who by his own admission is not a natural soccer fan, has emerged as an avatar of the average American World Cup convert, the kind of sports watcher who prefers basketball or football, but who has been enchanted by the U.S. run deep into the tournament and the international joie de vivre and domestic patriotism that comes with hosting major matches in his backyard.
More than just a pop-culture marker, attendance at the 2026 World Cup has become a way for ambitious politicians to see and be seen by powerbrokers — a trendy way to stoke the attention-economy flywheel. Shapiro, in particular, has done rounds of World Cup-related press, including an interview with POLITICO at the FIFA Fan Festival at Fairmount Park’s Lemon Hill.
“A little bit of a Johnny Come Lately when it comes to soccer every four years,” Shapiro told WHYY’s Sports in America podcast in an interview that aired this week. “But when I get into it, I’m into it.”
Here are the potential 2028 presidential hopefuls who have attended a World Cup game so far:
— Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro: 4 matches (Paraguay vs. France; Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador; France vs. Iraq; Curaçao vs. Ivory Coast)
— Secretary of State Marco Rubio: 2 matches (U.S. vs. Paraguay; Colombia vs. Portugal)
— California Gov. Gavin Newsom: 1 match (U.S. vs. Paraguay)
— Former Vice President Kamala Harris: 1 match (U.S. vs. Turkey)
— Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 1 match (U.S. vs. Australia)
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