Seattle’s Lumen Field will host six matches during next year’s Club World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Tuesday.
The Seattle Sounders, who earned a spot in the competition by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions League, will host all three of their group stage matches at their stadium.
Three other games will also be played at Lumen Field, one of 12 stadiums that will host a total of 63 games during the tournament. The event will feature an expanded call of 32 teams from the six FIFA football confederations.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 15 and run through July 13, with the final scheduled for New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, also the site of the 2026 World Cup final. So far, the Club World Cup has not attracted any major US sponsors and there is no media rights deal.
Infantino was scheduled to meet Tuesday with local officials, representatives of the Seattle Sounders and the National Women’s Soccer League team, the Seattle Reign, as well as leaders of Seattle’s 2026 World Cup organizing committee.
Seattle has also been chosen as the host city for the men’s World Cup in 2026.
When the dates for the Club World Cup were announced, the global players’ union FIFPRO criticized FIFA for not taking into account the players’ workload in the programming.
On Monday, FIFPRO’s European division and the 33-nation European Leagues group lodged a formal complaint with the European Commission on competition grounds, accusing FIFA of failing to properly consult its decisions.
The European Commission in Brussels is the executive arm of the 27 countries of the European Union and can intervene in case of violations of competition law.
Twelve teams from Europe will be included in the Club World Cup. These are Atlético de Madrid, Bayern Munich, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto, Real Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg.
Other teams that have qualified are Boca Juniors, Flamengo, Fluminense, Palmeiras and River Plate from South America; León, Monterrey, Pachuca and the Sounders of North America; Al Ahly, Esperance, Mamelodi Sundowns and Waydad from Africa; Al-Hilal, Al Ain, Ulsan and Urawa of Asia; and Auckland City, Oceania.
