World Cup fever will hit NYC in a special way this summer in the form of a very unique pop-up store in downtown Manhattan.

Described by the owners as ‘an interactive, community-driven pop-up experience’ PlayBeautiful will run for the entire duration of the World Cup tournament and will feature real-time match viewing of every World Cup game, live demonstrations by the soccer industry’s top performers, video game competitions, film screenings, private events and a fully stocked soccer store featuring all the top brands as well as the FIFA collections brands.

The 4,500 square-foot space at 201 Mulberry Street will be converted into a dream destination for soccer fans and is the brain child of Upper 90 soccer shop and Alex Kotler, owner of Football Partnerships and one-time First Touch contributor.

The central feature of PlayBeautiful will be the stadium, a 200-person indoor match-viewing theatre modeled after Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa. PlayBeautiful will also include a miniature training ground, featuring daily demonstrations by the world’s top football freestylers, an interactive game zone designed for video game and foosball competitions, as well as a concessions area, which will offer global fare prepared by local chefs, in partnership with neighborhood restaurants.

In the late afternoons, the venue will close to the public and become available for private events, including cocktail parties, film screenings, corporate meetings, fundraisers, birthday parties and more.

Part of the proceedings from the project will be donated to soccer specific charities.

You can keep up to date with all the latest info about PlayBeautiful here at Firsttouchonline.com and at their website www.iplaybeautiful.com.