Suite life – Benny Agosto ready for World Cup in Houston

HOUSTON – Since arriving in Houston from Puerto Rico to play soccer for Houston Baptist University, Benny Agosto has watched Houston’s soccer scene transform over four decades. The Houston philanthropist vividly remembers the original Houston Dynamos with the red and white colors training at HBU and scrimmaging against his college team. 

Agosto remembers Brazilian legend Pelé making an appearance at a Dynamos’ match as a guest. The Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer moved from San Jose in 2006, winning consecutive MLS Cup titles over the franchise’s first two seasons in the Bayou City. 

The 2010 MLS All-Star Game at Reliant Stadium, International friendlies like Mexican giant Club América against Spain’s renowned FC Barcelona and the Dynamo’s MLS success helped elevate Houston into one of America’s top soccer cities. 

That status was recognized when Houston was named as one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup that is being held jointly between the United States, Mexico and Canada. 

‘A dream’

“Bringing the World Cup finally back to America and to Houston has been a dream for all of us soccer followers and soccer fans,” Agosto said. “This year, as soon as I could, I started connecting with the right people so that I could get a suite.

“Luckily, I was able to get a suite for every game in Houston to invite friends, colleagues, family, and we’re gonna have the best time of our life watching the World Cup here in Houston.”

A suite at Houston Stadium isn’t cheap, but Agosto is capitalizing on the strong legal career he built with the work ethic he learned in his native Puerto Rico.

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Long before his Puerto Rico Soccer Hall of Fame induction, a young Benny Agosto Jr. learned discipline through early morning paper routes in Puerto Rico. That work ethic was instilled by his parents, Bernardino and Marina Agosto, and it would be the foundation of his success on and off the field.

Bernardino Agosto was a jeweler in Puerto Rico after World War II. Benny remembers his father working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. seven days a week. 

Hard work key

“I delivered newspapers from age 13 to 18 in Puerto Rico, so I had an early-morning-riser work ethic even as a student,” Benny Agosto says. “For me, the example that they taught us, maybe it wasn’t academic, but hard work, love and dedication to your craft – whatever it is that you’re doing – stuck with me.” 

That work ethic first showed up in baseball. As an outfielder, Agosto excelled in baseball. He played for Puerto Rico’s representative at the 1976 Sandy Koufax World Championship (ages 13 to 14) in Knoxville, Tenn. Puerto Rico went undefeated and finished as world champions. 

His athletic path shifted in high school. At Wesleyan Academy, known as a Puerto Rican soccer powerhouse, he shifted from outfielder to goalkeeper. The switch came naturally. Agosto’s outfielder’s reflexes and aggression translated easily into the goal. 

“When I got to high school, they didn’t have a proper goalkeeper,” he said.  “My reflexes were quick, agile and athletic.

 “In baseball, you can catch the ball, you can throw the ball. And in soccer as a goalkeeper, well, you know. If I can follow a baseball, which is much smaller, I can follow a soccer ball. It became very easy for me to follow it.” 

Easy transition from beisbol to futbol

As he settled into the position, his skills developed quickly. Club soccer became part of his weekly routine. He soon competed with Puerto Rico’s Under‑19 national team. During the Puerto Rico high‑school championships, a Houston Baptist University recruiter vacationing on the island watched the games. 

Impressed by the level of play and the bilingual private‑school athletes, he contacted the island’s soccer federation and arranged a special training session. Agosto was among those invited. After an hour of drills, Agosto was one of six players who were offered full scholarships to the school now named Houston Christian University.

“We’re like, ‘We’re gonna go play together? Are you kidding me? To Houston?’” he said. “Even better, because it’s a big city. We didn’t know much about it, but it became very interesting. Ultimately, six of us accepted, and all six of us came to Houston in the fall of ’81.”

Agosto started all four years at Houston Baptist, reaching the conference championship each season. After a standout collegiate career, he graduated from HBU, earned a master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Houston, and later graduated from the South Texas College of Law. 

His journey eventually came full circle in 2020, when he was inducted into the Puerto Rico Soccer Hall of Fame, an honor that recognized the foundation he helped build and the path he helped create for future generations.

‘Best seat in the house’

“To be inducted into the Hall of Fame, I’m very proud and honored to be part of that history that now has opened doors for other people,” the Hall of Famer said. “The Puerto Rico men’s and women’s soccer continues to excel. 

“I follow it very closely. Women’s soccer is really enhancing their abilities, and I saw the under-17 qualify to go to the World Cup, women’s under-17 team.” 

Agosto has helped soccer grow in his native Puerto Rico and his adopted hometown of Houston. He’s ready to capitalize with friends and family during the seven matches Houston Stadium will hold, beginning with four-time champion Germany against Curacao on June 14.

“The last time that the World Cup was in the United States was in 1994, and he always talks about one of his most exciting memories was seeing Germany against España (Spain) in 1994,” Bernardino Agosto III said of his dad. “He’s always talked about the World Cup because it’s the only World Cup game he’s seen in person.

“So for it to come to Houston, and him to have a suite now, I’m sure it’s an incredible experience for him. He has the best seats in the house to watch the World Cup in Houston. I don’t even know if he can really put words to describe how big of an accomplishment it is for him.”