World Cup Makes Waves in Palm Springs

The World Cup is making cash registers cheer around the globe, and here in the Coachella Valley, Palm Springs Surf Club has figured out how to turn soccer fever into a poolside business win.

While the world’s biggest sporting event is filling stadiums, packing bars, and giving fans everywhere a fresh reason to yell at giant screens, the Surf Club is serving up its own desert twist: soccer, sunshine, food, drinks, and actual waves.

At Palm Springs Surf Club, fans are gathering to watch matches on two giant screens overlooking the wave pool. That means guests can keep one eye on the game and the other on surfers riding waves just a few feet away. It is part sports bar, part beach club, part “only in Palm Springs” moment.

Restaurant manager Stephanie said the venue wanted to take advantage of its unique setting and give soccer fans a place to enjoy the sunshine while catching every minute of the action. Translation: why watch the World Cup indoors when you can do it poolside with a drink in your hand and someone wiping out gracefully in the background?

The result is a viewing experience that feels very Coachella Valley: relaxed, social, sunny, and just a little over the top in the best possible way.

Guests can watch the matches, grab food and drinks, and enjoy the rare combination of surfing and soccer in the middle of the desert. It is not exactly what FIFA had in mind when it imagined global watch parties, but frankly, this version may come with better weather.

Visitors say the atmosphere has turned the Surf Club into one of the area’s premier World Cup watch-party spots. For local businesses, that excitement is more than fun — it is an opportunity. Big games bring big crowds, and big crowds usually bring hungry, thirsty customers.

From surfing to soccer, Palm Springs Surf Club is proving that World Cup energy can travel far beyond the stadium. The matches may be played elsewhere, but the party is very much alive in the desert.

As one fan put it, it is not just watching a game — it feels like one giant watch party in the middle of the desert.