The best marketing that a global sporting event like the FIFA Club World Cup can ask for is a host market that not only welcomes it but also shows up. And that鈥檚 exactly how Seattle fits into FIFA鈥檚 game plan.
In the days before ADWEEK attended the June 23 matchup between the Seattle Sounders hometown Major League Soccer club and UEFA Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain from France鈥檚 Ligue 1, much of the advance press from the Club World Cup centered around unsold seats and slashed ticket prices. Amid the Concacaf Gold Cup international competition and ahead of next year鈥檚 North American FIFA World Cup, pundits wondered if there was an oversaturation of soccer or just some bad scheduling.
But as days progressed, the narrative changed from bleak to merely inconsistent鈥攚ith attendance ranging from more than 80,000 for PSG and Atletico Madrid in Pasadena to little more than 3,000 in Orlando for South Africa鈥檚 Mamelodi Sundowns and South Korea鈥檚 Ulsan. Seattle wasn鈥檛 immune: The city鈥檚 first Club World Cup match between the Sounders and Brazilian club Botafogo drew just 30,151 to Lumen Field鈥攚hich holds 67,000. The following matchup between Argentine powerhouse River Plate and Japanese club Urawa Red Diamonds saw attendance dwindle to 11,974.
However, amid all of that, the Sounders have built momentum through events such as record-breaking soccer lessons, fan festivals, and concerts in Occidental Park just blocks from Lumen Field, and attendance has grown ever since. The Red Diamonds鈥 next match in Seattle against Inter Milan from Italy鈥檚 Serie A had 25,090 in attendance. The Sounders, meanwhile, saw more than 51,000 take in their Juneteenth matchup with Atletico Madrid.
With mild temperatures, mostly clear blue skies, and Paris Saint-Germain in town on June 23, the FIFA Club World Cup in Seattle has become the event the city, global soccer, its partners, and the Sounders had been selling, with everything culminating in the city鈥檚 last Club World Cup match between River Plate and Inter Milan tonight.
Here鈥檚 a closer look at how the Sounders got the whole community involved on game day:
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On the ground
Just before 10 a.m. on June 23 at Tat鈥檚 Deli near Seattle鈥檚 Pioneer Square, fans in Sounders and PSG jerseys began lining up for the Pacific Northwest鈥檚 version of Philadelphia breakfast sandwiches. Behind the counter, an employee answered a customer鈥檚 question about the impact of the Club World Cup by noting that they expected a rush during the first few matches but saw very little difference, but were 鈥渟lammed鈥 by the time the Sounders took on Atletico Madrid鈥攚ith sandwich lines snaking out the door.
Lines were already forming as events in Occidental Square around the corner got underway, as kids took soccer lessons on a mini-pitch. The Sounders and Reign fielded lines of fans signing up for giveaways and scoring free merch. Partners in the Seattle Parks Department were imploring parents to come back for soccer-themed balloon sculptures after the game, as they鈥檇 be confiscated from kids by security guards at the gate.
A block away, a fenced-in bar area served pregame cocktails from Red Bull-branded tables, while a stage sat ready for performances by Sera Cahoone, Smokey Brights, and DJ Christian Science later in the day. Off to the side, a storefront gallery hosted by local streetwear brand Hometeam displayed not only its collaboration with the Sounders but also the team鈥檚 2022 Concacaf Champions League trophy that secured its place in the Club World Cup.
Members of the Sounders鈥 Sound Wave marching band performed briefly just before officials from both Paris Saint-Germain and the Gates Foundation took the stage to discuss their One Team youth soccer clinics in both Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. As the presentation wrapped up, fans streamed behind the stage to the intersection of Occidental Avenue and Jackson Street and lined up behind the Sounders鈥 Emerald City Supporters鈥 group for the less than half-mile march to Lumen Field鈥攕inging 鈥淒uwamish Sown鈥 and 鈥淏orn in 鈥74鈥 while opening the occasional blue and green smoke flares.
At Lumen Field, just beyond the north security gates, the teams and brands waited patiently for fans to arrive. Anheuser-Busch In-Bev鈥檚 Michelob Ultra set up a beer garden with a social-ready wall of soccer balls, a giant inflatable can, a dribbling challenge, and a photo op with its Superior Player of the Match trophy, awarded to the fan-elected best player of each game.
Coca-Cola, meanwhile, set up a camera-friendly tunnel walk featuring red-carpet-style photo walls on either end, push-button fan noise, various stadium backgrounds, a giant red-and-black soccer ball, face paint, and swag including clapper fans and neck coolers鈥攎ore a luxury than a need when gameday temperatures maxed out at 74 degrees. The Sounders rounded out the offerings by having fans line up for games, including 鈥渟occer skee-ball,鈥 and handing out prizes.
By the end of the match, 50,628 people had made their way into Lumen Field, the Sounders put in a strong showing while falling to PSG 2-0, and fans lingered around Seattle on a Monday afternoon to wander in and out of restaurants and businesses, take in concerts, dance in closed streets, and take group photos together in team colors even if their team wasn鈥檛 playing (River Plate fans were out in force for Sounders-PSG).
Seattle is slated to host six matches during next year鈥檚 World Cup, including one apiece in the Round of 32 and Round of 16. By comparison, that鈥檚 more than Guadalajara and Monterrey (4 apiece) or Mexico City (5) and as many as Toronto, Philadelphia, the Bay Area, and Kansas City. Only seven of the 16 World Cup host cities feature matches later in the tournament. While crowds and demand on space may be greater for those matches, a host city like Seattle makes its pitch by making the most of what it鈥檚 given and exceeding expectations before fans, brands, and the world at large impose them in greater magnitude.
鈥淲ith over 130,000 fans filling the stands during Sounders FC鈥檚 group stage matches, our city demonstrated once again why it belongs on the global soccer stage,鈥 Taylor Graham, chief integration officer for both the Sounders and Reign, told ADWEEK. 鈥淭his tournament wasn鈥檛 just a celebration of elite competition鈥攊t was a moment of pride for our entire community.鈥