Seattle showed out in force this past Father’s Day, June 15th, at Pier 62 below Pike Place Market. There hundreds of World Cup fans took part in an attempt to set a new Guinness World Record for the largest soccer practice in history.
Hosted by the Seattle Sounders’ Rave Foundation, the event opened with a performance from Sound Wave and a land acknowledgement to the Salish peoples. A statement recognizing the Puyallup Tribe’s historic involvement followed shortly thereafter.
“Most of all I want to recognize the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. They’re our sponsor,” president of the FIFA World Cup Seattle Organizing Committee Peter Tomozawa told the crowd. “The very first indigenous peoples ever to become a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup. Amazing people.”
With a previous record soccer practice of 956 people to beat—set by the San Jose Earthquakes in 2023—more than 1000 locals made their way downtown for a sunny Sunday at the waterfront. Comedian, TV celebrity, and Sounders owner Drew Carey was on hand to perform MC duties alongside Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr. After introductions and speeches, team coaching staff lead the crowd through a 30-minute series of drills.
“Today is going to be an official Guinness World Records attempt at ‘Largest Football Lesson’,” official Guinness World Records rep Michael Empric announced. “I have stewards in the crowd who will be monitoring you during this attempt. That means everyone has to participate fully for 30 minutes. That means you can’t be on the side, you can’t be on your phone, you can’t be in the bathroom. You are doing the soccer lesson for 30 minutes to break this record.”
From there, participants went through 15 exercises focusing on dribbling, coordination, and juggling skills. Each exercise was broken into two 45-second blocks, with 15-seconds of downtime in-between. When the dust had finally settled and the adjudicators had finished their deliberations, the official announcement was made. With 1,038 official active participants, the Seattle Sounders now own the world record for world’s largest soccer practice.
Later that same day, the Sounders made another bit of history, becoming the first ever Major League Soccer team to take part in the FIFA Club World CUP. Sharing the stage with soccer superpowers like Manchester City, Chelsea, and Real Madrid, the Sounders squared off against Brazilian team Botafogo, losing 2-1 in a hotly contested match. The Sounders are now set to face Atletico Madrid on June 19th and Paris Saint-Germain on the 23rd.
