Sounders FC is committed to making our community stronger and more equitable through a long-term commitment to our Social Justice Framework.
Our framework declares our beliefs, how we promise to take consistent actions and four Arenas for Change where we intentionally focus our work. This framework is used across the organization as a strategy screen to make and inform decisions. Our framework dictates that we Fight Racism, one of our Arenas for Change, through the celebration of the heritage months on our social impact and cultural calendar.
In February, we celebrated Black History Month! Learn more our activations and investments from last month.
Support Black-Owned Businesses
To celebrate Black History Month, we continued our partnership with Intentionalist, collaborating on a variety of fun ways for fans to explore and #SpendLikeItMatters in support of the Black-owned small businesses at the heart of our communities!
Alongside our fellow pro sports teams - Seattle Storm, Seattle Seahawks, OL Reign, Seattle Mariners and Seattle Kraken - we encouraged and incentivized the community to buy from local Black-owned small businesses. During Black History Month, fans could upload their receipts from Black-owned small businesses for the chance to win a prize pack from their favorite team. Thanks to the immense support of the community, $42,470 in receipts were uploaded from Black-owned businesses in February! Fans uploaded 350 receipts from 91 different Black-owned businesses. The total impact was a 71% increase from the 2022 campaign!
Amplify and Activate on Matchday
Sounders FC uses matchday as a platform to educate fans and highlight BIPOC and diverse-owned businesses. Our home opener in February provided an opportunity to celebrate BHM at Lumen Field!
We kicked off our second season of featured BIPOC and diverse-owned food truck and pop-up restaurants at home matches, presented by First & Goal Inc. and Levy. Curated by Intentionalist, these local small businesses align with our social impact and cultural calendar, giving fans the opportunity to discover new culinary delights with food trucks in Lumen Field’s North Plaza and a pop-up restaurant location in Lumen Field’s PNW Marketplace concessions area, located in the East Concourse outside of Section 113.
Our home opener featured specialty eateries all support local Black-owned small businesses in honor of Black History Month. The featured North Plaza food trucks were Swagg-n-Wagon, serving perfectly cooked fried chicken with sides like waffle fries and buttery cornbread, and Zuri’s Gourmet Donutz, a specialty donut shop offering inventive and playful flavored pastries. At the PNW Marketplace, Taste of the Caribbean showcased Jamaican culture with delicious dishes like oxtail, jerk chicken, curried goat and fried plantains.
The match also featured special performances in honor of Black History Month. Ahead of kickoff, local artist Shaina Shepherd provided a pre-match performance, followed by NAAM’s African American Cultural Ensemble (ACE) singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing." ACE soloist Tommie Burton also performed the national anthem.
