When Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani recently shared an Instagram post spotlighting New York City establishments tied to nations competing in the upcoming FIFA World Cup in the area, it wasn’t just a social media moment — it was a reminder of how deeply global the city’s neighborhoods remain.
Among the bars tagged in the post with over 200,000 likes was Soccer Tavern, representing Norway, which will play in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 22. The longtime Irish/Norwegian fixture in Sunset Park is owned by Brendan Farley, for whom the shoutout came as a surprise.
“I think one of my kids sent it to me,” he said, laughing. “My wife handles most of the social media. I’m not very tech savvy.”
The connection, he said, goes back far before Instagram. Sunset Park’s Eighth Avenue was once known as “Little Norway,” home to a thriving Norwegian immigrant community that shaped the area throughout the mid-20th century.
“That used to be a Norwegian neighborhood,” Farley said. “So I guess that’s where [the mayor-elect] got it from.”
The bar itself dates back to 1932, when it first opened under Irish ownership before changing hands during a wave of Norwegian immigration in the 1950s. Two Norwegian brothers later ran the establishment, and it eventually entered the Farley family before being sold in the 1970s. Nearly a century later, it remains a living artifact of the neighborhood’s layered past.
“It’s been here a long time,” he added. “There’s a lot of history to it.”
With the World Cup set to bring international matches — and tens of thousands of fans — to the New York-New Jersey area, local bars like Soccer Tavern are bracing for renewed attention. While Farley hasn’t been inundated with messages, he said he’s already noticed an uptick in interest.
“We got a few texts and comments from Norwegian people,” he said. “We already get visitors who come by just to see the old neighborhood.”
He expects many visiting fans will head to MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for matches, but he hopes some will make their way through Brooklyn — not just for soccer, but for the stories embedded in places like his bar.
“I’m just looking forward to the whole World Cup thing,” Farley said. “It’s always great, and especially since it’s in New York. There should be a lot of visitors.”
Soccer Tavern isn’t the only Brooklyn establishment finding itself part of the World Cup map. Mamdani’s post also highlighted Michelle’s Lounge, a longtime neighborhood bar in Flatbush representing Panama, owned by Sherwin Johnson and his family. The country will play in East Rutherford on June 27.
Johnson said the cocktail lounge was founded in the 1970s on Bedford Avenue and has been a famous place known in Panama. He told the Brooklyn Paper about the shock he felt when he saw the post.
“I hadn’t noticed it until about a day later, when I saw that [the account] was mentioned in so many posts. I didn’t realize that once I slid through the photos, there we were.”
Johnson said he’s been inundated with messages since the post.
“People are so excited to come and watch Panama; it is definitely going to be an undertaking. After the new year, we will start planning.”
Johnson also expressed his gratitude for the post.
“We didn’t enter anything to be recognized; they just posted it,” he said. He added that it was extremely meaningful for Michelle’s Lounge to be recognized as a staple for the city’s Panamanian community.
Together, the two bars reflect how Brooklyn’s immigrant histories continue to shape its present — even through something as global as the World Cup.
As the countdown to 2026 continues, those anchors may soon become international meeting points, where locals and visitors alike come together — not just to watch soccer, but to celebrate the communities that have long made Brooklyn a world borough.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026, with the final match at MetLife Stadium.
