When the World Cup First Came to New Jersey

Earlier this year, the world came to New Jersey for the FIFA World Cup. It was an exciting time for sports fans and brought tremendous recognition to our state as several games, including the final, were played at MetLife Stadium.

But many people don’t realize that this was the second time the United States hosted, or co-hosted, the World Cup.

The first was in 1994.

While New Jersey didn’t host the final in 1994, Giants Stadium hosted seven matches that year. Among the teams coming to the Garden State was one of the heavy favorites: Italy’s national team, the Azzurri.

And, just as we were this year, R&J Strategic Communications was in on the action.

At the time,we were representing the Somerset Hills Hotel in Warren, which had landed a remarkable assignment: hosting the entire Italian team and its traveling delegation during the tournament. The team would train at the Pingry School in Martinsville and play two of its first-round matches at Giants Stadium.

Having a World Cup team stay at your hotel is one thing. Turning that stay into national media attention that’s as much about the hotel as it is the Italian team is another. R&J saw a story, and we were thrilled to be able to tell it on behalf of our client.

The Italian team didn’t just bring its players and coaches to New Jersey. It brought its own food, its own culinary traditions and, in effect, a little piece of Italy with it.

R&J pitched that distinctive angle to The New York Times, resulting in a June 29, 1994 feature story about the lengths to which our client went to accommodate the team and its cultural, dietary and training regimen while competing thousands of miles from home.

It was exactly the kind of earned media opportunity that remains at the heart of effective public relations: find the story, identify what makes it interesting, and connect it with the right audience.

That exposure, along with extensive local, regional and statewide media, helped put the Somerset Hills Hotel on the national stage at a moment when international attention was focused on New Jersey.

The hotel had booked all 111 rooms for the Italian delegation, and the team’s presence brought not only players and coaches but officials, journalists and thousands of passionate Italian fans to the region. Many gathered at the hotel entrance with signs, banners and enthusiastic chants, drawing even more attention to our client.

The story became even more memorable as Italy advanced deep into the tournament. The Azzurri ultimately reached a sensational World Cup final that went down as one of the most dramatic in history, and the Somerset Hills Hotel remained their New Jersey base throughout their run.

For R&J, the experience was a textbook example of what good public relations can accomplish. Our client had a remarkable story. Our job was to recognize it, find the right angle and make sure the story reached the people who would care about it.

Thirty-two years later, the World Cup would return to New Jersey — and once again, R&J would be there.

In Part 2, we’ll look at how R&J helped Somerset County tell its compelling story to World Cup visitors in 2026 — and how the Somerset Hills Hotel once again found itself hosting a national team, this time from Morocco.