Seattle’s Lumen Field will host six matches during next year’s Club World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino announced on Tuesday.
The Seattle Sounders earned a place in the tournament by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League and will play all three of their group matches at their home stadium.
In addition to the Sounders’ matches, three more games will take place at Lumen Field, which is one of 12 stadiums hosting a total of 63 matches in the tournament. The event will feature an expanded format with 32 teams from FIFA’s six soccer confederations and will now take place every four years.
“I arrived yesterday and visited Lumen Field. Great arena, very special arena which has a special soul, a special heart inside,” Infantino said. “You can feel it when you are in some stadiums; they don’t have to be the biggest or the most special. This one is very special.”
The tournament is scheduled to start on June 15 and run until July 13, with the final taking place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, which will also host the final of the 2026 World Cup.
So far, the Club World Cup has not secured any major sponsors in the U.S., and there is currently no media rights deal in place.
Infantino was expected to meet on Tuesday with local elected officials, representatives from the Seattle Sounders and the National Women’s Soccer League team, the Seattle Reign, as well as leaders from Seattle’s organizing committee for the 2026 World Cup.
Seattle has also been chosen as a host city for the men’s World Cup in 2026, with Lumen Field set to hold six matches during that event.
“This will be, for me, part of the legacy we want to leave as well,” Infantino said. “We’re not just here to organize tournaments and events, but we are here to grow the game to make it become No. 1 not just around the world but also in this country.”
Adrian Hanauer, the majority owner of the Sounders, mentioned that a temporary grass field would be installed for the Club World Cup, as Lumen Field currently has artificial turf for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
When the dates for the Club World Cup were revealed, the global players’ union FIFPRO criticized FIFA for not considering player workloads when making the schedule.
On Monday, the European branch of FIFPRO and the 33-nation European Leagues group officially complained to the European Commission, claiming that FIFA did not properly consult them about its decisions.
The European Commission in Brussels is the executive body of the 27-nation European Union and can step in if competition laws are broken.
Twelve teams from Europe will participate in the Club World Cup. These teams are Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Real Madrid, and Salzburg.
Other qualified teams include Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras, and River Plate from South America; Leon, Monterrey, Pachuca, and the Sounders from North America; Al Ahly, Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns, and Wydad from Africa; Al-Hilal, Al Ain, Ulsan, and Urawa from Asia; and Auckland City from Oceania.
Another American team will qualify for the tournament, but FIFA has not clarified how this selection will be made, leaving the possibility that it could be Lionel Messi’s team, Inter Miami.
