The World Cup is about places and people. In Seattle, it should be about Pride | Leander Schaerlaeckens

"In Seattle, the local organizing committee long ago designated the 26 June game slated for Lumen Field as the Pride Match to mark the city's LGBTQ+ pride weekend celebration. In a twist, the World Cup draw then assigned Egypt and Iran to that match, countries where the gay community is persecuted and where, in Iran's case, homosexuality is even punishable by death. The two nations protested."

"There will be Pride events. There will be rainbow flags, inside the stadium and out of it. Fifa may have cornered itself by banning rainbow captain's armbands in Qatar in 2022 on account of local customs. Well, the local custom of the Pacific Northwest is tolerance. Good. The World Cup is at its best when it feels less like a mega-event that is transported, lock, stock and barrel to a new continent every four years than a template that the hosts get to modify."

There are two versions of the World Cup: the commercial product and the lived experience. Seattle's local organizing committee designated the 26 June Lumen Field match as the Pride Match to coincide with the city's LGBTQ+ pride weekend. The World Cup draw placed Egypt and Iran in that fixture, prompting protests that cited FIFA's neutrality rules and differing local customs. Seattle organizers rejected those objections and affirmed Pride events and rainbow flags inside and outside the stadium. FIFA's prior ban on rainbow armbands in Qatar illustrates tensions between global rules and local customs. The Pacific Northwest's tolerance shaped a hosting approach that emphasizes local flavor over a uniform mega-event.

Read at www.theguardian.com