Seattle, WA
The World Cup 2026 Pride Match between Egypt and Iran that Seattle hopes can ‘unite football community’
When Seattle announced it would host a Pride Match during the 2026 World Cup, it was long before the draw had even been made.
The match at Lumen Field on June 26 (4am on June 27 in the UK) – one of six the city is hosting – falls on the same date as Seattle’s annual Pride weekend, setting the stage for a festival of celebrations outside the stadium.
It is a game that could determine who makes it through to the knockout stage – and it is a game that will feature two countries with some of the strictest anti-gay laws in the world: Egypt and Iran.
In Iran, same-sex relationships are illegal and gay men have been executed on sodomy charges, making their laws some of the most oppressive against the LGBTQ community in the world.
Egypt has previously arrested LGBTQ people on indecency laws and has cracked down in recent years on the outward expression of Pride and the waving of rainbow flags.
Both countries have called on FIFA and Seattle to cancel the Pride celebrations.
Iran Football Federation president Mehdi Taj described the Pride branding for the match as “inappropriate” and “an irrational move”.
A statement from the Egyptian Football Association read: “Egypt categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match. Such initiatives conflict with the cultural, religious and social values in the region, especially in Arab and Islamic societies.”
FIFA, which has no official involvement in the plans, has resisted calls from Iran and Egypt to cancel or move the match.
Seattle’s local organising committee says they will go ahead as planned, saying: “Soccer has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs. We are honoured to host a Pride Match and to celebrate Pride as part of a global football community. This match reflects our ongoing commitment to respect, dignity and unity for all.”
Both sides will be looking to secure qualification to the round of 32, with Egypt top of group G on four points and Iran in second with two points.
Iran will also have to travel to Seattle from their base in Mexico on the day of the match due to restrictions not allowing the team to stay overnight in the United States.
‘We want people in Egypt and Iran to know they would be welcome in Seattle’
Eric Wahl, who fell in love with football while living in Seattle, is a member of the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee and has been helping to organise the game.
He is also the brother of journalist Grant Wahl, who passed away at the Qatar World Cup in 2022 after suffering an aortic aneurysm. Wahl had a month earlier been briefly detained by security staff for wearing a rainbow football shirt.
Despite some initial apprehension when the draw was made, Eric Wahl believes the Pride Match will be an opportunity for the world to see how welcoming Seattle is.
“We had a sole mission of wanting to highlight LGBTQ organisations and businesses in Seattle and to unite that with the shared love of soccer as a world sport,” he said.
With hundreds of thousands of visitors and millions of viewers tuning into Seattle during Pride Weekend, we are presented with a unique opportunity to make a lasting impact. This moment allows us to educate the world, inspire our LGBTQ+ community, and uplift LGBTQ+ businesses and cultural organisations.
“This is actually a really positive thing.
“We want people from Egypt and Iran to know that, regardless of their personal identities, they would be welcome in Seattle, and we would be happy to have them.
“I really hope that there will be soccer fans in Iran and Egypt who will be able to watch this match for the match itself, but also with the halo of equality around it.”
Footballers in Qatar four years ago were caught up in a controversial U-turn over the ‘OneLove’ rainbow armband but Wahl does not expect the Iran or Egypt players to comment on anything except the football itself.
“I think it is par for the course [there will be questions of them] but also slightly unfair to the players on both of those national teams who have unquestionably been put into a position they didn’t ask for.
“To ask any of them to comment on these situations puts them in an unfair position.
“Whether they are for or against gay rights in general doesn’t matter to me, because they have to think about the oppressive regimes that they come from and that to me is a much greater concern.”
FIFA to treat match the same as any World Cup game
While FIFA is not in charge of organising the Pride Match, it has been liaising with the Seattle local organising committee and the Pride advisory committee.
The match will be treated the same as any game in the World Cup, with a FIFA spokesperson telling Sky Sports News: “The FIFA World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events.”
FIFA’s branding will be limited to its regular ‘No Discrimination’ campaign material but rainbow flags will be allowed inside the stadium.
“General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the FIFA World Cup 2026 Stadium Code of Conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code.”
The governing body remains adamant it will not stand for discrimination of any kind at the World Cup and that anyone can report any abuse they face at FIFA events via its app.
Any discrimination in the stadium would follow the FIFA three-step procedure in place for all matches.
First the match would be stopped when an incident occurs, with an annoucement urging spectators to cease the offensive behaviour. If it continues after the restart, the match could be suspended and even abandoned as a last resort.
Seattle hopes that instead it will be a joyous, inclusive occasion celebrating the LGBTQ community.
Wahl is expecting to see a sea of colour at kick-off in a match that also marks an opportunity to honour his late brother.
“I will be wearing a version of the rainbow soccer ball shirt that Grant was detained for in Qatar,” Wahl said.
“I think it’s going to be amazing. I just can’t wait to share that experience, and I can feel Grant smiling about it too.”
Seattle, WA
FOLLOWUP: Sound Transit Board finalizes $400+ million spending installment for West Seattle light rail
Two weeks ago, we reported on the Sound Transit Board‘s System Expansion Committee recommending approval of actions to allot $406 million toward West Seattle light rail – the first big commitment after the ST3 plan revision that cemented ST commitment to WS. At this afternoon’s meeting of the full board, the actions all got final approval, as did a much-smaller installment of spending on Ballard light-rail planning.
(Here’s the full slide deck as presented at the committee meeting, also including the current WS light-rail cost estimate of around $5 billion.)
On the horizon, according to the most-recent ST email update, is work to advance the plan for the new cross-Duwamish River light-rail bridge, shown in this rendering:
(Sound Transit rendering)
That work on the south end of Harbor Island (in a parking lot at 1001 Klickitat, according to city docs) will see crews drill a test bridge shaft approximately 10 feet wide and 250 feet deep to better understand ground conditions,” ST says, to obtain “key information needed to finalize the bridge design.”
SEATTLE — Seattle police are investigating a shooting that left a 17-year-old boy injured early Thursday morning in the High Point neighborhood.
At about 12:48 a.m., dispatchers received multiple reports of rapid gunfire near Sylvan Way Southwest and Southwest Morgan Street.
Officers arrived and found a 17-year-old boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the hip area. Medics transported the teen to Harborview Medical Center in serious but stable condition.
Before officers located the victim, they found a car that had crashed and become disabled near Sylvan Way Southwest and Delridge Way Southwest. Police said multiple suspects were seen running from the vehicle through a nearby Home Depot parking lot.
Officers cordoned off the area and searched for the suspects with assistance from the K-9 Unit, but were unable to locate them. Police recovered the vehicle and impounded it for processing.
During the incident, gunfire struck at least three vehicles and two buildings. No other injuries were reported.
Officers processed multiple nearby scenes and recovered evidence before clearing the area. Detectives with the Gun Violence Reduction Unit will lead the investigation.
Seattle, WA
Council eyes street barricades in fight against violence, sex trafficking in north Seattle
SEATTLE — The Seattle City Council is expected to vote next week on a plan that would give the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) the authority to close off street access for public safety reasons.
The proposal comes after months of outcry from residents in north Seattle who say sex traffickers and sex buyers are looping through the streets surrounding Aurora Avenue North.
The street-closure proposal passed the council’s Public Safety Committee on Tuesday and is expected to be voted on by the full council next week.
“I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say the crime has gotten much worse, much more violent, and much more predator,” said District 5 councilmember Debora Juarez. “I think that we do have the authority to shut down a street for bullets flying and endangering the lives of those who live there.”
Frustrated neighbors have installed their own homemade barricades after a spate of gun violence between sex traffickers in May.
RELATED | SDOT removes street barricades near Aurora Ave; neighbors doubtful of temporary measures
Councilmember Bob Kettle says street closures will help tamp down sex buying in certain areas, but he emphasizes it must be accompanied by an increase in outreach and enforcement.
“We have to have a sustained effort,” Kettle told KOMO News. “My concern is for every action, there’s a reaction. We need to take this flex and then really attack it … because if we do just a bit and our attention wanders, we could have this conversation three months from now and we’re talking about the same thing.”
A 15-year-old boy was shot near 95th Street and Aurora Avenue North around 10:45 p.m. last night. The teen initially claimed he had been shot while walking down the street, but investigators now say he was shot by a passenger in his car.
RELATED | Seattle police say ‘drive-by’ on Aurora Ave. was actually passenger shooting teen driver
Kettle credited the city’s Real Time Crime Center cameras with helping investigators quickly piece together the events of the shooting.
“Just as important to finding out what happened, the cameras help police determine what did not happen,” Kettle said.
According to Seattle police data, reports of shootings and shots fired in the north precinct area are at their lowest levels since 2021.
Through the end of May, there were 48 total reports of shootings or shots fired, with one fatal shooting and seven nonfatal injury shootings.
That’s down from 63 total reports of shootings and shots fired – one fatal and seven injuries – in 2025; and 64 shootings or shots fired reports – one fatal and 17 injuries – in 2024.
At Tuesday’s committee meeting, councilmembers pointed out residents are calling for a new police precinct to be built on Aurora Avenue.
Ten years ago, a new North Precinct building was slated to be built at 130th Avenue and Aurora Avenue North to replace the existing precinct building, which was decades old and did not have enough space for the department’s needs.
Led by former councilmember Kshama Sawant, the “Block the Bunker” movement successfully got the North Precinct replacement project killed in city council.
Kettle said the city’s current financial issues make it essentially impossible to bring back a project similar to the one the previous council defeated.
“We have to connect the dots back,” Kettle said. “If we want to know why we are where we are today, we have to look at decisions made over the last two councils.”
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