Cascadia shines for the World Cup

It's easy to be cynical about the World Cup. FIFA is an incredibly corrupt organization, and its awarding of a groveling peace prize to the man who least deserves it confirms the world's largest football association has little integrity or self-respect.

But, a global sports tournament happening in cities across North America that brings together people from all over the world in peaceful, good-natured competition is a beautiful thing. And as fans have flooded Seattle and Vancouver for matches, it's brought an energy an excitement to Cascadia's two largest cities.

In Seattle, it has demonstrated that our city is beautiful and world-class. Visitors and the media have marveled at how transit- and pedestrian-friendly Seattle is. Media have been glowing in praise for streets full of fans at watch parties and many visitors saying Seattle has offered the best experience for fans in the entire tournament. Sports Illustrated ranked Vancouver and Seattle as the #1 and #2 cities hosting 2026 World Cup matches.

Vancouver has come alive as fans from across the world have packed the streets and stood shoulder to shoulder in Granville Island pubs. That's welcome news for Vancouver, whose MLS team, the Whitecaps, are threatening to leave the city for elsewhere.

Seattle didn't transform into one of the best cities for a global sporting event overnight (though the pedestrian closure of Pioneer Square north of the stadium was a recent decision and one the city should consider making permanent). Sound Transit recently opened its second light rail line, increasing access regionally (and it hit a new ridership record the day of the Australia-US match). Pike Place, the brick road within Pike Place Market, has been temporarily made pedestrian-only, and dancing World Cup fans and vibrancy of the city's beloved public market during this time have proved this change should be permanent.

It's exciting to see the world discover what we love about Cascadia – a willingness to build liveable cities, a gorgeous natural environment, and as the Seattle will demonstrate this Pride weekend, openness to all forms of relationships and identities.

What people may not be learning about as they visit our bioregion is a long-standing but still relatively unknown sense of regional identity: Cascadia. As much as our supporters have begun to draw attention to the bioregional movement, our campaign for autonomy, and the Cascadia Doug Flag, it's still a little on the fringes.

While I was in Pioneer Square supporting striking workers at the Embassy Suites hotel, most folks didn't notice my Cascadia flag cap – though I did get an approving high five from a USA fan at a beer garden. Another soccer fan asked me, "is that Uzbekistan?" I explained that it represented Cascadia – otherwise known as the Pacific Northwest, but he mostly seemed disappointed his guess was wrong.

Maybe one day Cascadia will field its own team – after all, Scotland, England, and Wales all get their own teams in the World Cup even though the UN only recognizes the UK. In fact, Cascadia does have a football team in the CONIFA league – a fascinating collection of teams from separatist regions, self-declared states, Indigenous groups, and unrecognized nations. The last CONIFA men's championship was in 2018, but the organization still hosts regional championships and organized its first women's championship in 2024.

Anyhow, welcome world, to Cascadia. We hope you enjoyed your visit, and we hope you return. And who knows, you may be hearing a bit more in the news from our corner of North America in the next couple years...

I'll be traveling starting Friday and on vacation next week, but look for occasional posts next week about books I've read during Cascadia Summer Book Bingo, as well as an essay by longtime Cascadia activist Patrick Mazza in response to Cascadia Democratic Action's call for Oregon and Washington independence.

Keep loving and keep fighting. --Andy