By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Millions of viewers watching Team USA’s FIFA World Cup match Wednesday night may also get a glimpse of Beaufort County.
MCRD Parris Island has been selected by FOX Sports as the site of a live watch party that will be featured during the network’s coverage of the United States’ Round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Personnel from both MCRD Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort are expected to participate in the nationally televised broadcast.
The event will be held at Brig & Brew aboard MCRD Parris Island. In a public announcement Tuesday, the depot said the watch party will begin at 5:30 p.m. Participants selected to appear on camera have been instructed to arrive by 7 p.m. in preparation for the live broadcast, with organizers seeking between 50 and 100 uniformed attendees to help create an energetic atmosphere.
Throughout the evening, FOX Sports plans to feature live crowd shots, chants and reactions from the watch party during its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage.
The United States advanced out of Group D to reach the tournament’s Round of 32, where it will face Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner will move on to the Round of 16.
Although the watch party is not open to the public, local residents and soccer fans may want to keep an eye on the broadcast for familiar faces and scenes from Beaufort County. Brig & Brew, which serves as one of the primary recreation and gathering spaces aboard the depot, regularly hosts sporting events and other activities for personnel assigned to the installation.
MCRD Parris Island said the broadcast will air during FOX Sports’ pregame, halftime and postgame coverage of Wednesday night’s match. Kickoff between the United States and Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached atdelayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.