Knicks Win Welcomes The World Cup As New York City Celebrates | OneFootball

The start of the 2026 World Cup for the city, or region, that will host the tournament's final has been overshadowed by another sport entirely, and one team in particular.

On Saturday night, just a few hours after the New York New Jersey Stadium hosted its first match of the World Cup between Morocco and Brazil, the New York Knicks secured a 4-1 series win in the NBA finals against the Spurs in San Antonio.

Metro New York is not unused to multiple sporting events in one day, but the Knicks' first championship win in 53 years is one of the biggest sporting moments the city has seen.

Despite it taking place at the Spurs' home in Texas, New York was out for the game. This, combined with the early stages of the world's biggest sporting event, the World Cup, made for a joyous, celebratory, if logistically challenging and sometimes chaotic moment.

World Cup takes back seat to Knicks mania in New YorkTHE democratic socialist mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, began the first of his morning shows previewing World Cup games taking place at the New York New Jersey Stadium by talking about a different sport entirely.Though the region’s World Cup games are technically being held across the Hudson River in the state of New Jersey, New York City will feature heavily in this tournament, as already seen from the ITV studio backdrop of Lower Manhattan from their perch over the East River in Brooklyn.Morning StarJames Nalton

It was apt that all of these people were coming together in New York City. It's a cosmopolitan melting pot even on a 'normal' day, but with fans over from around the globe for the World Cup (or at least those able to afford it and navigate a discriminatory visa process) and Knicks fans representing New York's diverse communities, it showed the uniting power of sport.

It is also apt that all of this is happening after New York City recently elected a democratic socialist as its mayor. Bringing politics into this moment of glory for the Knicks might be seen as an unnecessary diversion, but Mamdani's attitude towards uniting New York and bringing people together has been the exact opposite of that of many political leaders in recent times. His approach to the job of mayor, his boosting of local communities, and his actions and presence around the city have certainly played a part in the feel-good factor and sense of unity behind this Knicks run to the championship.

This outlook is part of what socialism is – a social good. One of the first great sports leaders, Liverpool manager Bill Shankly, described socialism in less political terms, highlighting that it is not just a political idea but an outlook on life that unites people and communities, and indeed sports teams.

"The socialism I believe in isn’t really politics," Shankly once said. "It is a way of living. It is humanity.

"I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day.

"That might be asking a lot, but it’s the way I see football and the way I see life."

Look at New York City in the days following the Knicks' win, and you will see echoes of Shankly's words in this team, in these fans, and in the city itself.

"I’ve seen Hasidic Jews breakdancing with Black kids outside the stadium," Knicks fan Joseph Cartagena, better known as hip-hop artist Fat Joe, told the Athletic.

"This is the greatest unification you’ve ever seen of New York City since 9/11."

Where does the World Cup come in? Where can it come in after such a monumental sporting moment has already occurred?

It's difficult to turn a blatant money grab by FIFA, coupled with a far from welcoming, discriminatory United States immigration policy, into an event that reflects the Knicks-induced feel-good factor seen in New York City, and beyond.

Mamdani has tried, and has done more than FIFA and the US administration themselves to try to make the World Cup feel more inclusive.

Mamdani adopts a similar approach to Shankly, one that also reflects the diversity and inclusivity within the fanbase of the London soccer club he supports, Arsenal.

His politics are as much about action as ideology. A way of living. He is operating in office as he did when he was more under the radar prior to being elected mayor at the end of 2025, only now he has a little more power to try to implement change, and it's something he has tried to bring to the World Cup.

As soccer fans made their way back from the game at the Meadowlands on Saturday night, they could not have failed to notice the buzz around the city and around the Knicks. The orange and blue omnipresent alongside Brazil's iconic canary yellow and the strong red of Morocco.

There will be a parade on Thursday, reminiscent of those in soccer after a team wins a league title, as seen when Arsenal and Liverpool won the English Premier League in recent years. The scale of New York City and the win after such a long wait means it will likely surpass them (and will, again, be a big challenge for the city administration).

There will now be no direct clash on Tuesday between what would have been a game six of the NBA finals at Madison Square Garden and a France versus Senegal at the Meadowlands, as the Knicks got it done in five, as Mamdani predicted.

The city can now turn to the World Cup, should it choose to do so, and events across the five boroughs, away from the extortionate, exploitative prices of tickets to the actual games themselves, will help make it more inclusive. But even as the World Cup gradually becomes the main game in town, New York will continue to relish this Knicks championship win for weeks, months, and years to come. Expect to see those striking orange and blue colours for the rest of the World Cup, and maybe even at some of the games.