Renton will host a national soccer team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
At the 2025 State of the City address, Mayor Armondo Pavone announced a national soccer team will call Renton and Sounders FC Longacres facility home while competing in the 2026 World Cup.
“The World Cup is the world’s largest event of any kind and it is hard to overstate the potential impact of a major national team calling Renton home for the duration for the tournament,” Pavone said. “This is an opportunity for Renton to showcase ourselves on the world stage next year and we’re looking forward to putting our best foot forward.”
The 2026 World Cup will take place in 16 cities total across the United States, Mexico and Canada, kicking off on June 11 and concluding July 19. Seattle will be one of the 11 cities in the U.S. hosting matches for the cup.
Four group stage matches from three different groups will be playing in Seattle, along with a round of 36 and a round of 16 matches for a total of 6 scheduled matches. Seattle is also the only host city outside of Los Angeles guaranteed to host the U.S. National Team, with the team scheduled to play their second group game at Lumen Field on June 19.
For the first time, the 2026 World Cup will feature 48 national teams competing for coveted prize instead of the usual 32 teams. The host nations — the United States, Mexico and Canada — automatically qualify for the tournament.
Only four other teams have locked down a spot based on their performance in qualifying matches: Japan, New Zealand, Iran and Argentina. That leaves 41 spots left for the 204 remaining FIFA-affiliated national teams. Teams qualify within their confederations, which are based on regions of the world. Qualification matches for the 2026 World Cup started back in September 2023.
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