Seattle's Road to The 2026 World Cup

The 2026 World Cup in Seattle is a story thirty years in the making. Looking back at the failed 1994 bid, the region possessed a deep love for the game but lacked the infrastructure and commercial scale to satisfy the global stage. To explore how Washington transformed from a bypassed candidate into a premier host city, Folio: The Seattle Athenaeum is pleased to welcome Frank MacDonald, a foremost authority on the region's soccer legacy, in conversation with Folio member, journalist and author Matt Pentz.

Together, they will examine a landscape reshaped by the meteoric rise of the Seattle Sounders and Seattle Reign FC. Washington has since built a world-class culture defined by record-breaking crowds and a soccer-first identity. Securing the 2026 bid is a definitive milestone that bridges the grassroots passion of the 1970s with the modern era, finally validating the Pacific Northwest as a global pillar of the game.

Frank…