Arya News - The city of Seattle will honor pride month during a World Cup match between two countries with a history of criminalizing gay relationships.
Fans watch the first half of an attendance record-breaking NWSL soccer match at Lumen Field between the OL Reign and the Washington Spirit, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, in Seattle. The Spirit and the Reign played to a scoreless draw in Megan Rapinoe’s final regular season home game before her retirement at the end of the season. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)
The city of Seattle will honor pride month during a World Cup match between two countries with a history of criminalizing gay relationships.
In September, the city announced plans to organize a “Pride Match” on June 26, 2026. Although teams weren’t confirmed, Seattle was selected as one of the host cities for the FIFA World Cup. At the time, all that was known was that Seattle would be hosting a group stage match on Pride Weekend. The game would be called the “Seattle Pride Match.”
Following last week’s World Cup Draw, Seattle now knows who will be playing in that specific match. The city will host the Group G match between Egypt and Iran. Vancouver was selected for the other Group G matchup between Belgium and New Zealand around the same time.
A report from Outsports detailed the complicated situation further:
A match between countries that vociferously oppose Pride presents a complex scenario for Seattle organizers, who have set up a Pride Match Advisory Committee (PMAC) to “shape the communications, community activations, and cultural programming” for the festivities.
With Lumen Field hosting six World Cup fixtures in total, there might have been scope to alter the Pride Month plans.
However, the USMNT’s match with Australia on June 19 has already been designated to mark Juneteenth, while the other group matches in Seattle on June 15 and June 24 feature either Egypt or Qatar, which is another country that imprisons gay people.
The report also cited findings from the organization Human Dignity Trust. According to the organization, Egypt “criminalizes same-sex sexual activity between men” and that “sentences include a maximum penalty of three years’ imprisonment and a fine.”
Iran , on the other hand, “criminalizes same-sex sexual activity between men and between women.” The maximum penalty there is death.
The post Seattle Set to Celebrate Pride Month During World Cup Match Between Two Countries Where Gay Relationships Are Illegal first appeared on Mediaite .