Rainbow flags await Egypt and Iran at awkward World Cup Pride Match

Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei says he will not address "things that do not exist" as his team prepares to play Egypt in the Pride Match in Seattle.

Local organisers have designated the game as a Pride Match because it falls on the Friday before Pride Weekend, which celebrates diversity and the LGBTQ+ community.

Drag performances and Pride watch parties are planned across the city while rainbow flags - a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride, diversity, and social inclusion - will fly inside the stadium. Despite complaints from Iran and Egypt, countries where homosexuality is illegal, the event will still take place.

Both teams say they are purely focused on football, with both coaches avoiding questions about gay pride at their news conferences before the match, which kicks off at 04:00 BST on Saturday.

"We are here to play football, not for other things," Ghalenoei said. "As for things that are forbidden in our religion and do not exist, we do not want to talk about them. We only talk about the match, football and the beauty of the game."

Across the street, Seattle host committee officials insisted that the timing of the Pride Match was not designed to provoke. Pride weekend had been planned before the draw paired Egypt and Iran, they told the BBC, adding that the answer to discomfort is curiosity rather than retreat.

"We're thrilled," Hedda McLendon, from Seattle's World Cup organising committee, told the BBC after the city's 'Pride Match Day' press briefing. "It might not be how you want to live or how things are in your country but this is something that makes us unique and we want you to experience it and be curious."

With a stunning view overlooking Seattle's football stadium, McLendon and other host committee officials repeatedly said it did not matter who was playing - that the match was scheduled before the teams were announced and they would celebrate the beauty of football and gay pride no matter what.

"The match is about Seattle, not Egypt or Iran," says Wales football legend Jess Fishlock, who now lives in and plays for Seattle Reign FC and is part of the host committee.

"Regardless of who is playing we would be the same. It's such an important part of Seattle's identity and culture."

Fifa, football's governing body, says rainbow flags will be allowed inside the stadium - but adds that this is not a 'Fifa Pride Match,' simply another World Cup game taking place in a city marking Pride weekend.

"The Fifa World Cup 2026 is an inclusive event that welcomes people from all backgrounds. Fans of all sexual orientations and gender identities are welcome at matches and events," it said in a statement.

"General statements of human rights, including rainbow flags and other flags representing sexual orientation and gender identity, are permitted under the Fifa World Cup 2026 stadium code of conduct and may be displayed inside stadiums provided they are used in a manner consistent with the code."

At a fan zone, we met Egyptian fans cheering on Mexico days before their team takes on Iran. For them gay pride was irrelevant.

"Right now it's about two teams trying to get to the next round," Makarius Demian told us, adding that he supports gay rights. "Pride match or no Pride match, that's not what matters."

Not far from the big screen, an Egyptian restaurant pop-up is getting ready for the match - and for fans craving a taste of home. 'Koshari' is a staple Egyptian dish; a mix of lentils, chickpeas, pasta, fried onions and garlic tomato sauce.

Owners Ayman Almasri and Amani Abouammo shut their restaurant Koshari for the duration of the World Cup to open a pop-up version at the fan zone where they were serving up the vegan Egyptian street food.

They say having Egypt and Iran play in a Pride match is awkward and rooted in cultural misunderstanding.

"Here it is the culture. People are used to that," Abouammo said. "Back home, people are not used to it. It's this piece of confusion that each party cannot understand the other party."

On the pitch, there is plenty at stake. Egypt come into this match with momentum after beating New Zealand, and with a real chance of winning Group G.

Iran, meanwhile, arrive in a very different mood - their tournament already shaped by politics, travel restrictions and complaints about preparation time, even if they have been allowed to get to the host city earlier than in previous matches.

As Egypt and Iran try to edge closer to the knockout stages, this match is about more than what happens on the pitch.

It is also a glimpse of what happens when a World Cup lands in a city celebrating one set of values, while two of the teams taking part arrive carrying very different ones of their own.