Leo Sawadogo spent the better part of a year getting ready for this. The owner and head brewer of Montclair Brewery, a former professional soccer player who once coached kids on local fields, watched the World Cup land 12 miles from his taps and expected Montclair to feel it. Instead, three weeks into the tournament, he is asking a simple question. Where are the people?
This conversation with Sawadogo was part of the reporting behind the Pod’s larger investigation, “The World Cup Came to New Jersey. Montclair Didn’t Own It,” which asked why the tournament’s promise never quite landed on Bloomfield Avenue and beyond. Here is more of what he told us, in his own words.
Why Montclair Brewery Expected a World Cup Boom
Back in September, the Pod caught up with Sawadogo as he was gearing up for the tournament, planning themed beers and watch parties around the world’s biggest sporting event. His enthusiasm hasn’t faded since. Neither has his logic. “What I was expecting is for the World Cup to be able to teach people a lot of things,” he said. “People woke up and saw how interconnected the world is. It’s incredible. There’s no team you’re going to see without an African player. They’re all there. That’s one of the lessons I want people to realize, how big soccer is.”
He is not exaggerating the scale. A single European match, he pointed out, can draw a bigger audience than the Super Bowl. The 2025 Champions League final drew an estimated 430 million viewers worldwide, nearly double the Super Bowl’s estimated 252 million, so the comparison holds up. To Sawadogo, the tournament landing in the region was a global party arriving on Montclair’s doorstep, one he expected the town to join.
That was the bet. A global audience, a stadium down the road, and a town with a real shot at the spotlight. The spotlight never swung this way.
Montclair’s World Cup Tourism Problem, in Leo’s Own Words
“That is the thing I’m so pissed about,” Sawadogo said. “The town should do a better job. The World Cup is coming, the whole world is coming to New Jersey. Even the German team was staying right across the street from me,” he said, pointing out that the England team and Norway’s squad have also been either staying or training in the area.
None of that translated into foot traffic. “Where are the people? Where are the people?” Sawadogo said. “I heard Boston ran out of beer. I wanted personally to deliver beer to Boston. I wanted to save the day in Boston. It’s terrible.”
Boston has its own World Cup matches at Gillette Stadium, so a tourism surge there is not surprising. When Scotland’s traveling fan base, known as the Tartan Army, descended on the city after their opening win over Haiti, bars ran dry within days. The Sam Adams taproom sold out of its flagship lager. The White Bull Tavern ran out of nearly everything on tap. Swadogo had been bracing for a similar rush that never came.
“We need to do a better job,” Sawadogo said. “Next time there’s a global event, we need to promote the suburb of New Jersey as a destination, also as a tourist spot, so people can come here and discover what’s happening in Montclair. Montclair is one of the most diverse towns. If you look around, you can find anybody from anywhere in the world here. I thought we were going to get smashed, and none of that is happening.”
It’s Not the Beer, It’s the Foot Traffic
Despite the underwhelming turnout, for Sawadogo it hasn’t been a down month. “I’m going to be honest with you, when it comes to my brewery, we’ve struggled to make enough beer to sell,” he said. “That’s one of the problems we have.” His own business is fine. What he is missing is everyone else’s business. “I’m looking at other businesses. There should have been more people in town, more people visiting and mingling.”
“Most people who come here are the regulars. Either they’re watching the game from here, or they’re in town looking around and then try to find a brewery to drink some beer,” Sawadogo said.
Even at the stadium itself, he said, the crowds scattered fast. “When you look around the stadium, nobody was there. Everybody, after the game, ran to New York City. That’s what people were more interested in seeing.”
What Leo Sawadogo Wants Montclair to Do Next
The World Cup still has weeks left, and Sawadogo sees one more chance to change the story: the international press corps stationed at Montclair State University for the tournament.
“To the press corps, you guys reporting on those games, don’t forget we have a downtown here, and a lot of cool spots,” he said. “We have a brewery here. We make a lot of unusual beer, beers you won’t find anywhere else. Don’t let that escape, because after the World Cup you’re probably going to have to go back to your country. But come on over here. We’re going to show you how we roll in Montclair.”
For a fuller picture of what has been happening in town and its surroundings during the tournament, read the Pod’s complete guide to the World Cup in New Jersey.
