Through its participation in La Plaza De Fútbol, Irvington is linking local entrepreneurs, restaurants, small businesses, and community voices to the excitement around the world's largest sporting event. La Plaza De Fútbol gives Irvington a platform to participate in the celebration beyond the stadium, creating space for local businesses and cultural ambassadors to engage with fans, promote their services, share food and traditions, and benefit from the worldwide attention on the region.
Irvington is not waiting for the world to discover us, we are ready to welcome the world.
Mayor Vauss said Irvington's role in this moment reflects years of work, preparation, pride, and belief in the township's potential.
We are 14 miles from MetLife Stadium, but we have been world-class all along. This is our time to show visitors the strength, flavor, culture, and spirit of our community.
The World Cup should not only be a celebration inside the stadium. It should be felt in our neighborhoods, our restaurants, our business corridors, and our community spaces. Irvington is making sure that our small businesses and residents are part of the opportunity.
Irvington's approach to the 2026 FIFA World Cup focuses on inclusion. The township is using the tournament to promote local commerce, strengthen community pride, spotlight cultural diversity, and invite visitors to experience Irvington before and after matches.
Irvington is home to residents from many backgrounds, cultures, and traditions, including families with roots across the Caribbean, Latin America, Africa, and beyond.
The World Cup brings nations together. Irvington does that every day. Our community is made up of people from different places, different cultures, and different stories, but we come together as one township. That is the beauty of Irvington.
Irvington's involvement in the broader World Cup celebration is expected to include community gatherings, fan experiences, watch-party opportunities, youth soccer engagement, and business-centered participation. A new mini-soccer pitch has been installed at Florence Avenue Elementary School as a lasting symbol of the tournament's local impact, giving young people a safe place to play and imagine new possibilities.
Administration Record
Mayor Vauss' World Cup vision is tied to a broader record of community improvement. His administration has focused on making Irvington safer, cleaner, stronger, more active, and more welcoming, guided by the mottos "Keeping our community clean and safe" and "One Team. One Dream." The administration has emphasized public safety, youth programs, senior engagement, infrastructure, sanitation, redevelopment, economic opportunity, recreation, and civic pride.
Under his leadership, Irvington achieved an approximate 51% reduction in overall crime and a 72% reduction in violent crime between 2014 and 2021. In 2025, the township recorded one homicide, the lowest annual homicide total in Irvington's modern history.
Before you can invite people in, you have to invest in your own house. We have worked to make Irvington safer, cleaner, more vibrant, and more united. Now we are proud to open our doors and let the world see the progress our residents helped build.
The township is encouraging visitors to experience Irvington's restaurants, shops, cultural spaces, and community corridors. Fans traveling through New Jersey are invited to stop in Irvington, support local establishments, enjoy the township's diversity, and become part of a celebration rooted in hospitality.
This is how global events should work. They should create memories for fans, but they should also create opportunities for families, workers, entrepreneurs, and young people. Irvington is showing what it looks like when a township steps forward and claims its place in a historic moment.
For local youth, the World Cup also represents inspiration through soccer-centered programming and community engagement that connects young people to the excitement of the tournament while reinforcing teamwork, health, discipline, and possibility.
To every fan coming to New Jersey for the World Cup, Irvington welcomes you. Visit our restaurants. Support our businesses. Celebrate with our residents. Experience our culture. We want you to leave knowing that Irvington is a place of pride, strength, and possibility.
The Township of Irvington is a diverse and historic municipality in Essex County, New Jersey, with more than 65,000 residents. Under Mayor Vauss, Irvington continues to advance public safety, neighborhood improvement, economic opportunity, youth engagement, infrastructure development, community programming, and civic pride. More information is available at irvingtonnj.gov.
