The Seattle municipality announced this Tuesday that it will maintain the meeting between Iran and Egypt, for the 2026 World Cup, as the “LGBTQIA+ Pride game”. Both countries had protested to FIFA. Even so, Katie Wilson, the mayor of the city of Seattle – where the game will take place – said that pride is “very important”, justifying the fact of maintaining the decision. «We host one of the largest Pride celebrations in the United States. We're proud of that and we're excited to host a game that weekend. We are going to celebrate it with a bang and I believe that our residents are eagerly awaiting it. I hope the fans enjoy it too,” he declared at a press conference. In Iran, homosexuality can carry the death penalty. Egypt, in turn, punishes with prison sentences. However, Wilson admitted that he sees no problem in holding this game, but also guaranteed that it will allow people to “protest safely”. «We have a rich culture of protest, where people like to raise their voice against what does not seem right to them. Therefore, we will establish a designated demonstration area, so that people can do so safely», he said. Egypt and Iran are part of Group G of the World Cup. The game between these teams is scheduled for June 26th at Lumen Field, a stadium in Seattle that will host a total of six games - four from the group stage, one from the round of 32 and another from the "eighth".
