{"id":139281,"date":"2026-07-15T16:14:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nycs-rikers-island-jail-hosts-world-cup-watch-party-for-inmates\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T16:18:31","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T22:18:31","slug":"nycs-rikers-island-jail-hosts-world-cup-watch-party-for-inmates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/nycs-rikers-island-jail-hosts-world-cup-watch-party-for-inmates\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC\u2019s Rikers Island jail hosts World Cup watch party for inmates"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rikers
Rikers Island inmates watch the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina, at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Offices, public parks, bars \u2014 watch parties popped up at all the usual spots for Wednesday\u2019s semifinal World Cup match<\/a>. But one was in something of an unusual location: New York\u2019s sprawling Rikers Island correctional facility, better known for its overcrowding and violence than for hosting social events.<\/p>\n

More than 100 inmates dressed in tan uniforms took seats at tables facing a projection screen showing the game in a gymnasium at the complex\u2019s main intake center to watch the semifinal match<\/a> between England and Argentina. Colorful balloon towers topped by soccer ball balloons framed the screen.<\/p>\n

The jail has been hosting watch parties since the tournament kicked off last month for inmates who have shown good behavior, including being incident free for at least 30 days.<\/p>\n

The scene Wednesday was in sharp contrast to complaints about Rikers Island that have been so bad in recent years that a federal judge<\/a> appointed a federal official to help improve the facility. Wednesday’s watch party came a day after that official, called a remediation manager, submitted a plan for reforms that included bleak descriptions of dysfunction at the facility.<\/p>\n

That included one account of inspectors arriving at a housing unit to find it filled with smoke from fires set by prisoners, blaring alarms and people pounding on their cell doors. The report also described a separate incident in which prisoners streamed through an unsecured door and brawled after a guard abandoned his post.<\/p>\n

But on Wednesday, the Rikers inmates at the watch party got a visit by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who arrived shortly before kickoff. His trademark dark suit jacket was off and his white dress shirt sleeves were rolled up.<\/p>\n

The Democrat took a seat at a table and immediately started chatting about the tournament. One of the inmates told others at the table that he expected Argentina to prevail over England and go on to face Spain, which had defeated France<\/a> the day earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know,\u201d said Mamdani, a professed Morocco fan.<\/p>\n

At another table an inmate said he was going home later in the day. \u201cThat\u2019s amazing,\u201d the mayor said, shaking his hand and patting his back before heading out at about the 20-minute mark of the game.<\/p>\n

The jailhouse crowd erupted in a mix of groans and cheers as England struck first with a goal early in the second half.<\/p>\n

Ralph Veal was among the minority of England fans who raised his arms in celebration as Argentina supporters grimaced and looked away dejectedly. The 53-year-old Mount Vernon resident, who has been incarcerated since November, said he\u2019s rooting for England because it\u2019s his 20-year-old son\u2019s favorite team.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe vibe is real good, you know. I\u2019m sitting at the table with Argentina fans, but it\u2019s all right,\u201d Veal said shortly before the England goal. \u201cWe have a good, a good time, you know, it feels real great, real great. The energy is real positive in here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Victor Caldas was among the legion of Argentina fans who jumped out of their seats hugging and clapping and banging the tables as the team took a 2-1 lead in stoppage time, and then went on to win a spot against Spain in the final on Sunday.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old, who has been incarcerated for four months, has been rooting for Argentina since his home country of Ecuador was knocked out of the tournament.<\/p>\n

Caldas said he appreciated being able to watch the game uninterrupted among fellow soccer fans because there\u2019s always competition for other programs on the televisions in his housing unit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI give it all my best to get this little time and enjoy the moment,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was supposed to be like kind of a reward for good behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Rikers
Rikers Island inmate Victor Caldas, an Argentina fan, reacts during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina, at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rikers
Rikers Island inmate Ralph Veal celebrates an English goal with a corrections officer during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina, at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Rikers
Rikers Island inmate Ralph Veal celebrates as England scores during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina, at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"New
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks with inmates on Rikers Island as they watch the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span>(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rikers Island inmates watch the World Cup semifinal soccer match between England and Argentina, at the jail complex in New York, Wednesday, July 15, 2026. (AP Photo\/Seth Wenig)(AP Photo\/Seth Wenig) NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Offices, public parks, bars \u2014 watch parties popped up at all the usual spots for Wednesday\u2019s semifinal World Cup match. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5734],"tags":[],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-139281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-associated-press"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139281"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139321,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139281\/revisions\/139321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139282"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139281"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=139281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}