The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already shaping up to be unlike any tournament we’ve seen before — and not just on the field. With Group Stage games being played in some of the most LGBTQ-friendly cities in the United States, the world’s biggest sports event will overlap with some of the nation’s biggest Pride celebrations.
Seattle is seizing the moment and has announced that one of its Group Stage games will be designated the “Seattle Pride Match.” Seattle’s Pride Weekend traditionally falls on the last weekend of June. That coincides with a Group Stage match at Lumen Field on Friday, June 26, 2026, the likely date for the Pride Match. The teams for that game are still to be determined. The city will also host another match on June 19, featuring the U.S. Men’s National Team.
Meanwhile, the USMNT’s other two Group Stage matches will take place in Los Angeles, where Pride House LA and West Hollywood plan to host Pride Houses throughout the tournament. To build excitement, Seattle organizers launched a Pride Match design contest, inviting LGBTQ artists to submit logos and insignias for the event. No updates on the winner have been posted yet.
However, advocates hope the plan is still moving forward. This stands in stark contrast to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where rainbow flags were confiscated and FIFA threatened yellow cards for players wearing OneLove armbands. Seattle’s Pride Match offers the chance to replace those memories with a message of inclusion — showing the world how much more beautiful the game becomes when it embraces the LGBTQ community. This story first appeared in Outsports the world’s best media source about LGBTQ sports news.
