A World Cup superfan's journey comes full circle at Rice

A World Cup superfan's journey comes full circle at Rice

For Mauricio Benitez, every FIFA World Cup is about more than the soccer on the field. It’s about the people.

Whether chatting with supporters from Morocco, celebrating alongside fans from the Netherlands or introducing his grandson to his first World Cup match, the associate provost and senior adviser at Rice University has spent four decades discovering that the tournament’s greatest moments often happen before the opening whistle.

“To me that’s the other piece that I enjoy the most — meeting the people and where they’re from, their stories about football, and how they celebrate together as people and with their families,” Benitez said. “That’s what’s very rewarding.”

A native of El Salvador, Benitez has followed the World Cup since 1986, when he watched Diego Maradona captivate the soccer world in Mexico. Benitez says from a young age, soccer was woven into everyday life, from neighborhood games to family gatherings around the television.

He dreamed of attending a World Cup in person one day. That dream became reality in 2014, when he traveled to Brazil for his first tournament, attending matches while experiencing a country transformed by the world's biggest sporting event. He later made similar trips to Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022, building a tradition of exploring host countries through the lens of the World Cup.

This summer, the experience became more personal.

For the first time, Benitez was able to experience the World Cup in the city he has called home for more than four decades — and on the campus that has become his second home.

Benitez arrived at Rice in 1993, just one year before the United States hosted the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Starting as a file clerk in the human resources office while finishing high school, he steadily built a career that has taken him through engineering, chemistry, natural sciences and, since 2019, the Office of the Provost.

“Rice is very relationship based, and I have been fortunate enough to build strong relationships across the university,” Benitez said. “Doors open up and professional opportunities expand.”

During his 33 years at Rice, he watched the World Cup through informal campus watch parties bringing together students, faculty and staff. This year, those gatherings became official as Rice hosted watch parties, welcomed thousands of visitors and served as an official Houston World Cup Host City Supporter.

“It was super exciting,” Benitez said of learning that Rice would play a visible role in the tournament. “I was hoping Houston would get some games, and then I was very excited when I learned that we were going to be a part of it.”

He attended four matches in Houston, another in Mexico City and joined thousands of Dutch supporters during the Orange Fanwalk before the Netherlands match against Sweden. He also volunteered with fellow Rice employees, handing out water and Rice bandanas to fans making the march to the stadium.

The experience gave him another opportunity to see what has always made the World Cup special.

People from around the world gathered on Rice’s campus, many visiting for the first time, asking questions about the university and experiencing Houston hospitality firsthand.

“It’’s not just about soccer,” Benitez said. “It’s about making those connections with others.”

“I think it’s a proud moment for those of us who’ve been here for a while, sharing that with others.”

One of Benitez’s favorite memories came from watching colleagues experience their first World Cup.

“I was actually more excited for people that I knew were going for the first time than actually going myself because I knew how much they would like it,” he said.

That same excitement extended to his own family. During the Netherlands supporter march, Benitez brought his grandson, who helped distribute supplies to fans before attending his first World Cup match.

For Benitez, it was another opportunity to pass along a tradition that began nearly 40 years ago in front of a television in El Salvador and has since taken him around the world.

“This is particularly special because I got to share the excitement with my colleagues,” he said. “I got to share it with my family in person. There’s not going to be another opportunity, at least in my lifetime, to do that, so I’m very grateful. It’s something that I'll take with me forever.”