King County Metro teams up to strengthen community, cultural connections during Seattle’s soccer summer
Smiles so big they fill the room. Connections so strong they last generations.
As the region welcomes the world to Seattle’s soccer summer, community groups are teaming up with King County Metro to promote positive change and relationships that will last beyond the tournament events.
This effort is called our Inclusivity Initiative, and through this work Metro aims to demonstrate that excellence in transit operations and deep commitment to community fairness are inseparable elements of true public service.
Metro has convened conversations with community organizations and created a microgrant program to support and promote transit , watch parties, community celebrations and cultural events. These discussion spaces prioritize cultural healing, sharing experiences and celebrating togetherness.
“This is how we are broadening the benefit, and building new and creative ways to define the common good in 2026,” said De’Sean Quinn, Metro’s Director of Partnerships.
Metro is teaming up with 12 organizations, including 11 that received microgrants to plan to host events such as community watch parties, cultural discussions, local soccer tournaments, clinics and Juneteenth celebrations.
They share a common thread of community service and connections – like at the recent “Can I Kick it? Black Brilliance in Motion” event, where families and fans converged at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute to meet soccer heroes, shared meals and stories, signed up for youth ORCA cards and celebrated the upcoming tournament.
“Today’s gathering is about much more than soccer. It’s a celebration of culture, identity, movement, and community—and all of those things that are deeply connected to who we are at King County Metro,” Metro Deputy General Manager Ernest Kandilige said at the event.
In the coming weeks, similar stories will play out at events led by community groups, including African Center for Excellence, Amigos de Seattle, Black Rose Collective, Casa Latina, Cham Refugee Community, CoCreative, Kent Black Action, Move Redmond, Muslim American Youth Foundation, The Seattle Streets Alliance, Somali Health Board, and St. Mary’s Coptic Church of Lynnwood.
These programs help elevate and celebrate the region’s cultural diversity, honor and preserve important community traditions, and invest in transit infrastructure that lasts beyond the soccer tournament.
In these ways, our initiative is working to forge intersections with community cultural moments and the region’s larger sports event. Our goal is to always be strengthening the relationship Metro has as the region’s transit provider with communities. We are learning more and growing together through discussion series with community-based groups on rider needs, fare education and event amplification during the soccer tournament.
One of the more visible community connections was announced this past week, with sponsors pledging 1,400 match day tickets to youth soccer fans thanks to Seattle Mayor Katie B. Wilson and Seattle FWC26.
Metro is proudly providing transportation to about 200 of those players. For the first Seattle match, the African Center for Excellence youth soccer fans boarded Metro’s Black Lives Matter bus to ride in style to ride to watch Egypt face Belgium, thanks to tickets provided by the SeattleFWC26 and sponsors.
“King County is proud to provide shuttle service to help youth get to and from these matches safely and easily, making sure transportation is never a barrier to participation in a once-in-a-generation experience,” said King County Executive Girmay Zahilay.
Through our efforts, we hope to move the ball forward and set the stage for longer term success and growth with our community of riders.
