Junior Reyes, center, takes a shot on goal during tryouts for the Tri-Cities Badgers FC semi-pro soccer team at Fran Rish Stadium in Richland, Wash., in March 2024.
Annie Warren / NWPB
Seattle is one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, the soccer party will extend to local communities, with fan zones coming to parts of Washington state.
According to the Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 Local Organizing Committee, the fan zone may include live entertainment, interactive fan activities and food.
Yakima and the Tri-Cities are among the nine Washington cities designated as fan zones ahead of the World Cup. The announcement is already exciting soccer followers.
"We usually don’t have that around here … It’s going to be amazing, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun and also grow our soccer community here,” said Humberto Chavez, a coach with the Three Rivers Soccer Club. The soccer club is located in Pasco.
Jose Cueva owns the 3 Cities Football Club, a semi-professional team representing the Tri-Cities in the United Premier Soccer League.
Cueva said it’s a good win, considering that Yakima and the Tri-Cities are among some of the most significant soccer communities besides Seattle.
“It brings up some good events. It brings some revenue to the Tri-Cities, all for soccer. I think more teams will be exposed,” Cueva said.
Enrique Aquino, a soccer fan from Pasco, said he is very happy that the community is being considered.
“What more would we like than for our soccer community to continue to grow in this community, like in Yakima and Tri-Cities,” Aquino said.
The fan zone locations also include Bellingham, Bremerton, Everett, Olympia/Lacey, Tacoma, Spokane and Vancouver.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
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