FIFA has announced that the Seattle Sounders will have somewhat of a home-field advantage at Lumen Field for the 2025 Club World Cup. The Major League Soccer side previously qualified for the controversial tournament by winning the 2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Seattle is currently the only American team to book a place in the competition, but this is expected to soon change.
Three other CONCACAF clubs, all from Mexico, will also feature at the upcoming Club World Cup as well. Monterrey, Leon, and Pachuca all qualified thanks to similar Champions Cup triumphs as Seattle. Nevertheless, as hosts, the United States has another club at the tournament. Inter Miami is likely the final American team, but FIFA has not confirmed the move yet.
As the current marquee American club in the competition, FIFA has rewarded Seattle with multiple home games. The governing body announced on Tuesday that all three of the club's group-stage matches will be at Lumen Field. Seattle could then also play again at their home arena if they progress to the knockout stage.
"Six games of the FIFA Club World Cup will take place in this stadium, and the three games of the group stage of the Seattle Sounders will take place here," proclaimed FIFA president Gianni Infantino while posing inside Lumen Field.
"So, we want to hear some noise, and the World Cup [noise record] being broken in this stadium by the Seattle Sounders fans during the FIFA Club World Cup next year."
Seattle regularly features near the top of the annual MLS attendance figures. The Sounders averaged the third-most fans in stands among all teams in the division in each of the last two seasons. Lumen Field has a general max capacity of just under 38,000 fans during MLS matches. The arena, however, can accommodate up to 72,000 people in the stands for other events.
Seattle's stadium currently features artificial turf. Natural grass inside the arena was not possible due to the city's frequent rain totals. Officials believed that real grass would suffer because of the weather conditions. Despite this, FIFA generally forces venues to install real grass for their competitions.
There will be 63 total matches in the expanded 2025 Club World Cup. The tournament is happening across 11 different American venues. Assuming all, or at least a vast majority of the games, will split evenly between the 11 stadiums, Seattle receiving six fixtures is slightly above average. It remains unclear which arenas will host fewer matches.
Lumen Field is hosting six total games. The arena will go by a different name for the duration of the competition. FIFA is forcing the 2026 World Cup host stadiums to change their names. For instance, Lumen Field will be simply "Seattle Stadium."
FIFA's decision to temporarily rename host stadiums ultimately comes down to sponsorship issues. The governing body has strict rules over branding and will only allow official FIFA sponsors at the competition.