• A Delaware man was selected as one of 3,000 volunteers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Philadelphia.
  • The Côte d'Ivoire team, which plays in Philadelphia's first match, are based at the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington.
  • Delaware soccer fan also worked the FIFA Club World Cup 2025

A Delaware man sported a highlighter-yellow T-shirt with matching neon socks, purple soccer shorts and black Adidas sneakers with Skittles-colored stripes.

This outfit, which includes a purple hat with a matching jacket, is so drenched in color that it could trigger a flood warning at the FIFA World Cup 2026. 

Mike Logothetis of Newark has slipped and fallen in love with this newly acquired Adidas drip – the sleek volunteer uniform he'll wear this summer while working pre-match ceremonies at the World Cup in Philadelphia Stadium, (Lincoln Financial Field).

"I got a lot of free swag," the 55-year-old soccer fan said with a lighthearted laugh, during an interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal.

Delaware man will be on the field during World Cup 2026

His first Philly pregame ceremony falls on the city's tournament opener: a group match between Côte d'Ivoire versus Ecuador on June 14. That match is extra special because Côte d'Ivoire is using the Hotel du Pont in Wilmington as their official team base hotel during the tournament.  

This year, pre-match ceremonies have a new format that's different from previous World Cups, which formerly featured each team's starting 11 standing shoulder to shoulder near midfield. 

The tournament this summer introduces a new walkout, with all players from both teams’ match-day squads entering the pitch through a dedicated arch alongside youth escorts. Players then line up around the center circle for the national anthems, with massive flag banners on each side of the pitch.

Logothetis said his job is to carry one of the gigantic team banners onto the field, keep it raised, then fold it up and quickly hurry off so the match can start. Pregame ceremonies typically last about 15 minutes.

Once the volunteer leaves the field, his shift is essentially over, because he's required to arrive at the stadium six hours before a match. World Cup volunteers are committed to working eight six-hour shifts during the 39 days the tournament is held, from June 11 to July 19.  

Each shift is six hours, and volunteers aren't allowed to work more than one shift per day, said Alison Grove, spokesperson for Philly Soccer 2026, the nonprofit that organizes World Cup planning with the City of Philadelphia and the U.S. Soccer Foundation. 

World Cup Philly chose 3,000 volunteers out of 26,000

Grove told Delaware Online/The News Journal that 26,000 hopefuls applied to volunteer in Philly for the World Cup, yet only 3,000, or 11.5%, made the cut.  

The screening process for candidates included background checks to make sure applicants had "good character and clean records," Grove explained.  

She also said they conducted assessments to determine which strengths were best suited for the 18 volunteer positions, which range from stadium ticketing to guest operations — welcoming soccer fans at the airport — to pre-match ceremonies, including carrying banners and flags on the field.

Delaware soccer fan at World Cup 1994: 'Lot of energy'

Logothetis, who is Greek, is a longtime soccer fan who has seen matches abroad in Greece, Scotland, the Netherlands, Spain, Ghana and Italy, plus oodles of Philadelphia Union matches in the United States.  

His first World Cup experience in person was in 1994 at RFK Stadium in Washington, DC, when Norway defeated Mexico (1-0). He attended that match as a spectator with his dad and described there being "a lot of energy in the stadium."

It's been more than 30 years, and Logothetis can still hear fans playing instruments during the match.

"There were trumpets and drums and all these other things," he recalled. "The atmosphere inside the stadium is electric."

He also hasn't forgotten the colorful costumes and festive outfits at RFK Stadium.  

"There were, I guess, six guys sitting in a row nearby, and they were all in green shirts and one had an M, one had an E, X, I, C, O, and they were all in sombreros," Logothetis said.   

In the upper deck of the stadium, he saw Norway fans in red who filled up about a two-section block. It was like an earthquake struck the stadium after Norway scored the game-winning goal.  

"All of a sudden, all these flares went off, and you heard all these cowbells and drums and all this stuff," Logothetis said about Norwegian fans. "The rest of the stadium was quiet, because they were all disheartened."  

World Cup Philly volunteer calls Delaware soccer games

Logothetis loves soccer so much that he announces games for First State FC, nicknamed “The Midnight Riders,” a semi-pro team that plays home matches at Salesianum School's Abessinio Stadium in Wilmington.   

While Logothetis' debut as a World Cup volunteer is June 14, he already got an up-close preview of it when he worked a different event last year: the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 at Philadelphia Stadium. His job at the Club World Cup also involved pre-match ceremonies.

The Delaware man had a blast.

His experience working the Club World Cup helped Logothetis get a foot in the door to secure a spot working in the World Cup.

Having the chance to work this summer's World Cup "means a lot," he said, especially because he made life-long memories from working pre-match ceremonies during the Club World Cup.  

"I'm 20 feet away from world-class players, the best players in the world. It's exciting," Logothetis said. "It's great that I get to be a part of it. I feel [like] part of the cog that moves the machine."

USA TODAY soccer editor Seth Vertelney contributed to this report.

If you have an interesting story idea, email lifestyle reporter Andre Lamar at alamar@gannett.com. Consider signing up for his weekly newsletter, DO Delaware, at delawareonline.com/newsletters

Source: The News Journal