As that summer warmth comes rolling in, students look forward to graduation, trips, transfers or future classes. With 2026 peeking around the distance, that particular summer will be hauling in a whole lot of craze for our local sports fans.
The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) has officially announced that the host countries for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the United States, Mexico and Canada. The last time the World Cup took place in the United States was back in 1994. Amongst these three countries, stadiums in major cities have also already been chosen to host games across the tournament, including Lumen Field here in Seattle. Lumen Field will be privileged to host six matches, including four group stage matches and two elimination round matches.
The World Cup is a soccer tournament that takes place every four years. Top countries from around the globe come to play at a selected host country for a chance to win this historical championship on the grandest stage of them all. The tournament has been going on since 1930 and has had many soccer legends play throughout the years, such as Diego Maradona, Pele, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane, and Ronaldinho just to name a few.
Becoming a Host City did not come easily for Seattle. The soccer scene has always been overlooked in the United States. Major League Soccer (MLS) was only recently founded in 1993, while other pro leagues around the world have built legacies since the late 1800s or the early 1900s and soccer fans around the world constantly bash on the MLS quite frequently. Over the years, supporters of different MLS teams have continued to grow and flourish, alongside with clubs signing big names from europe such as the recent Inter Miami signing of Lionel Messi, with that passion and dedication from the fans and impressive signings from multiple clubs, the league is on a constant rise being seen as one of the top leagues in the soccer world.
FIFA made a proposition with Seattle; FIFA wanted to see if Seattle truly had that fiery passion for soccer. During the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League tournament, the Seattle Sounders Football Club made it to the final against Mexico’s own, Pumas. The Sounders organization was told that if they could fill up the entire stadium for that final, then they would be worthy of hosting World Cup matches. This was a challenge for the stadium because when Sounders games are taking place, the upper-level seating decks of Lumen Field are covered up due to limited attendance, while when the Seattle Seahawks play, those sections are open and filled with fans. With the efforts of the Seattle Sounders communications and marketing teams, the entire stadium was nearly sold out for the final match, proving to FIFA that Lumen Field is World Cup worthy.
With Seattle being one of the host cities, many fans across Washington State, especially residents in the east, have expressed fear of missing out because they are too far from the action or cannot purchase tickets due to their high prices. FIFA Fan Zones are a perfect accommodation for fans across the state.
FIFA Fan Zones are an immersive and festive experience around various cities that include huge screens to watch the matches on, activities, food, appearances from former soccer professionals and exclusive FIFA World Cup merchandise. The selected cities in Washington include Bellingham, Bremerton, Olympia, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Yakima and our very own Everett. The city of Everett is a good choice as it’s home to multiple sports teams such as Silvertips Hockey, Aquasox Baseball, Jets Soccer and just recently added to the group of Everett teams, Wolfpack Football. Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin has expressed her excitement towards the global tournament: “We look forward to welcoming passionate and energized soccer fans for the FIFA World Cup fun at our fan zone and throughout the city!” As for the central hub for FIFA Fan Zones, the primary zone will be held at the Seattle Center.
Can’t wait for the party to begin? Seattle will already get a little taste of World Cup frenzy this summer due to the FIFA Club World Cup. This tournament debuted in 2000. Instead of countries battling it out to see who’s best, the top soccer clubs from different cities across the world battle to see who is the greatest club/city of them all. For the first time in the club’s history, the Seattle Sounders FC have punched their ticket and will have all three group stage matches in Lumen Field against Paris Saint-Germain FC, Brazil’s Botafogo and Spain’s Atletico De Madrid.
Overall, this year and next will surely be one for the history books as it is the first time three different countries get to host the World Cup at the same time. Soccer has always been overshadowed in the United States, but thanks to the efforts of FIFA, local organization committees, City councils across not only our state but others and the passion of soccer fans everywhere, this tournament will have a huge ripple effect across communities around the country.
