A World Cup ‘Pride Match’ In Seattle Will Feature Two Nations Where Being Gay Is Criminalized
Organizers say the event will remain a celebration of inclusion even as the participating teams represent governments that repress queer communities.
Featured image by Adam Nurkiewicz – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Seattle planned its World Cup Pride Match long before anyone knew which nations would take the field at Lumen Field on June 26. As fate would have it, the matchup has landed on Egypt versus Iran, two countries where same sex relationships are criminalized and queer communities are relentlessly targeted.
Iran maintains the death penalty as a legal punishment for same sex relations. Egypt continues to wield vague morality laws to arrest LGBTQ people under charges like “debauchery.” Both countries have documented patterns of surveillance, entrapment, and state-led repression.
Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran’s Football Federation, has referred to the Pride Match as an “irrational move that supports a certain group,” according to the local news agency ISNA. Taj went on to say that both Tehran and Cairo have raised “objections against the issue.” Al Jazeera reports that Tehran has plans to “appeal against FIFA over the matter.”
The contrast between Seattle’s rainbow-infused celebration and the grim realities facing queer people in those nations could not be starker.
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Still, local organizers say the match will proceed exactly as planned. The Pride Match designation is entirely local and “not affiliated with or endorsed by FIFA,” as the SeattleFWC26 website notes. To guide the event, planners created the Pride Match Advisory Committee, which has taken on everything from community activations to public art commissions. That committee remained firm in its stance when the matchup was announced.
“The Pride Match has been scheduled to celebrate and elevate Pride events in Seattle and across the country, and it was planned well in advance,” a spokesperson for the Pride Match Advisory Committee (PMAC) said in a statement. “It is a Host City–led expression of Seattle and Washington State’s commitment to creating a welcoming and inclusive environment where everyone belongs: players, fans, residents, and visitors alike.”
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“Soccer has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs,” the statement continued. “We are honored 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.”
Eric Wahl, brother of the late soccer journalist Grant Wahl and a member of the PMAC, has gone so far as to argue that having Egypt and Iran in a Pride Match is actually a “good thing,” framing it as an opportunity to shine a light on queer communities who live under the harshest constraints.
Still, the clash between the match’s message and the participating nations highlights a larger tension within global football. FIFA has not commented on Seattle’s Pride Match.
Seattle will host six matches in total. One is aligned with Juneteenth, and two others involve Egypt or Qatar, making it nearly impossible to shift the Pride Match to a different pairing. The city appears ready to meet the moment head-on.
