The opening whistle for the Fifa World Cup is over six months away, but the national team has already found itself in controversy. A local non-Fifa-affiliated committee has designated the Pharaoh’s 26 June match against Iran in Seattle as a “Pride Match,” running parallel to the city’s Pride celebration planned for that weekend. In response, the Egyptian Football Association sent a letter to Fifa Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom demanding “Fifa not [to] hold any events or displays related to supporting homosexuality inside the stadium on the day of the match” and “to avoid activities that could spark tension or misunderstanding between supporters from Egypt and Iran.”

Fifa declined to comment on the issue to the foreign press and did not reveal whether it would mull switching the Belgium-New Zealand game to Seattle and bringing the Egypt-Iran one back to Vancouver. Seattle’s organizing committee said it was moving forward with the matches as planned. (Reuters | Associated Press | New York Times | Guardian | Washington Post)

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