Japan’s men’s national soccer team ranks 18th in the world. That rating and their track record indicate they stand a good chance of emerging from their group (F) at the FIFA World Cup 2026 but not impacting the later rounds. However, the Samurai Blue may have had a substantial effect on one Fort Worth restaurant’s efforts to entice fans to watch the entire tournament on one or more of the eatery’s 50-plus televisions.
A big part of the business model at the TCU area’s Rex’s Bar & Grill involves servicing diners and drinkers as they share a communal sports-viewing experience via those TVs. A huge summer soccer tourney taking place after the NBA and NHL playoffs but before pro and college football begin could drive business. Doing promotional activations with the TCU soccer program helped get Rex’s thinking about the sport and, eventually, the first Asian team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup — Japan.
There’s a connection. The family of Rex’s owner, Rex Benson, also owns the Fort Worth restaurant Japanese Palace (along with Ol’ South Pancake House, which shares a parking lot with Rex’s). They’ve developed further ties to the area’s Japanese community via the Fort Worth Japanese Society and through their marketing agency rep, the Time Group’s Margaret Mckoin, who works with the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth. During the buildup to the latter society’s gala, the concept of a gathering spot for the Japanese team’s games arose.
“They wanted to book a watch party for when Japan played,” Benson recalled, “and they wanted to have it Texas-style, where they would have a Texas-style buffet.”
The idea sparked a vision for a broader business opportunity.
“We were going to have three official watch parties for the country of Japan,” Benson said. “We started to look at it and go, ‘Well, why would we not do a watch party for every nation that’s involved in the World Cup? Why would we not get Argentina? Why would we not get South Korea?’ ”
Benson and his staff decided they would try to make every World Cup game a special occasion at Rex’s.
“We’ve created 104 watch parties,” he said, “so we’re doing a specific watch party for each and every country for every single game.”
Benson and company hope to welcome local fans of the beautiful game but also a broader spectrum of visitors and expatriates. Rex’s marketing materials reflect their desired reach, with details in English and the native language of the targeted countries’ supporters. They hope to make fans feel welcome no matter what jersey they wear while supplying some Lone Star hospitality.
Viewers can watch the games for free or take advantage of the $59 all-you-can-eat buffet for which you must register at least 24 hours in advance of the game via RexsFTW.com. It includes food plus two beer or wine beverages. Rex’s recognizes that some games may draw more reservations than others, so if they don’t have at least 20 people register for the buffet package for a given contest, they’ll forgo the buffet for that game and food ordering will come from the menu as it normally would. Customers already registered for the buffet in such cases would receive a menu credit for the amount paid.
Planning for multiple parties that include 48 nations would require substantial attention to detail no matter what, but official restrictions that accompany an event of this magnitude add significantly to the operational challenges. Benson said the Texas Restaurant Association has worked with him and other members to navigate FIFA’s sizable list of rules, which include not using the terms “FIFA” or “World Cup” in marketing collateral. Staying on the governing body’s good side even extends to how games are shown: You must show the pregame 30 minutes in advance and the postgame.
Such rules preserve value for FIFA’s official sponsors and TV partners. One way Benson has made those agreements work to his advantage is by partnering with Anheuser-Busch, the official beer sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026. The brewer can provide a retail partner like Rex’s with official signage and more.
“We’re going to be giving away a lot of swag, lots of cups, hats, and things like that,” he said of co-branded Michelob Ultra/World Cup promotional items. But the most valuable assets will enable some lucky patrons to watch tournament games somewhere other than Benson’s bar and grill.
“We don’t know exactly when, but they are going to have two giveaways to give away two pairs of World Cup tickets to two different games,” he said. “We’re getting four total tickets.”
Rex’s has already started to build a presence on their website, and Benson said to expect lots of social media marketing, especially when they find out the details of how they’ll award the coveted tickets. He’s also taken a Texas-sized step to ensure nobody in the vicinity of his restaurant will have any doubt they can watch association football inside.
“We have a 25-foot soccer ball that says ‘Rex’s’ on the logo, and it’s massive,” he said. “We’re going to put that out in the front of the restaurant, because I wanted to make sure that everybody knew that we were football-friendly when it came to the World Cup.”
