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'Make them feel at home' - Guadalajara Market dresses up for the World Cup with shops ready to welcome foreign fans

"The World Cup atmosphere has arrived at the San Juan de Dios Market in Guadalajara, one of the city's most emblematic gastronomic centers, where merchants and cooks are preparing to welcome thousands of tourists during the 2026 World Cup. Images recorded in Guadalajara show decorations with flags, balls, and jerseys related to the tournament in various food stalls. The owners of traditional stalls point out that the World Cup represents a challenge, and at the same time an opportunity, to provide good service to foreign diners. "It's not unusual for us to receive international tourism. The difference is that we usually have a certain amount, and the World Cup will bring an approximate amount of one million people in this month that we will have the presence of athletes or the sporting event," commented Liah Ruiz, owner of San Pascual Bailón. According to Ruiz, this business was one of the first in the Market to receive the "I also play" badge, a recognition given to establishments that completed a tourism preparation program promoted by state authorities. Among the topics covered are service quality and prevention of human trafficking. "We were training in a cycle for about three months. This training cycle included hygienic food handling, service quality, tourist hosting, prevention of human trafficking crimes, and we also saw some inclusion," she explained. Once the courses and training were completed, the merchants received badges that certify compliance with standards in tourist attention, inclusion, and service quality, with the aim of enhancing the visitors' experience during the World Cup. "We trained through four, well, two badges and two courses. Badge 'I' which is inclusion, and badge 'C', for tourism quality," noted Juanita del Carmen, owner of El Chivo de Oro, a birria stall where a stadium replica and a World Cup trophy are displayed. The expectation also runs through the historic market. In the family business Super Tortas Locas y Calientes, founded in 1970, the training focused on attending to national and foreign visitors. "We learned how to treat the visitor because there will be many visitors. We will try to give them the best service, so they feel as if they were at home," commented Dulce Saez, a worker at the stall. Guadalajara is one of the three Mexican venues that will host matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, along with Mexico City and Monterrey. In the capital of Jalisco, four matches of the tournament are scheduled at the Akron Stadium, with the participation of the national teams of the Republic of Korea, Czech Republic, Mexico, Colombia, Republic of the Congo, Uruguay, and Spain."

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