Seattle Sounders FC.

The Sounders. The team from the Pacific Northwest with one of the strongest supporter bases in Major League Soccer. A club whose identity is firmly tied to the city of Seattle – a place known for its innovation, natural beauty, and civic pride – so let’s trek over to the West coast and #GetTheBadgeIn.

Seattle Sounders FC joined Major League Soccer in 2009, but the Sounders name has a longer legacy. It dates back to 1974, when the original Sounders competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL). The name “Sounders” comes from Puget Sound, the large, complex system of interconnected waterways in Washington state. When the new franchise was announced, fans were invited to vote on the team name – and overwhelmingly chose to preserve that link with the past – and their state’s unique geography.

Since joining MLS, the Sounders have built one of the league’s most consistent and competitive records. With 2 MLS Cups, 4 U.S. Open Cups, and a CONCACAF Champions League title in 2022, they have become one of the most successful clubs in North American football – they recently competed too in the expanded Fifa Club World Cup. They lost all their games but were up against giants like PSG, Atlético de Madrid and Botafogo.

The badge reflects their commitment to a deep local identity. At its centre is the Space Needle, Seattle’s most recognisable landmark. Built in 1962 for the Seattle World’s Fair, the Needle was designed to symbolise a futuristic, forward-thinking city. At the time, it captured the spirit of the space age and the belief that science, engineering, and bold design could lift cities – literally and figuratively – to new heights. Today it stands 605 feet tall and offers panoramic views of Puget Sound, Mount Rainier, and the urban skyline.

The colours – Rave Green, Sounder Blue, and Cascade Shale – represent the forests, waters, and volcanic mountains that surround Seattle. But they are also, neatly, shared by the city's other major professional sports teams: the Seahawks (NFL), Mariners (MLB), Kraken (NHL), and Storm (WNBA) all incorporate shades of green and blue. This shared palette reinforces the city’s civic identity built around natural beauty and environmental awareness.

Seattle has always been a city with an eye on the future. From its early days as a logging port and shipbuilding hub, it grew into a global centre of aerospace during the 20th century, with Boeing based in nearby Everett. Later, tech giants like Microsoft and Amazon transformed it into a city of data, software, and global commerce. The world drinks its coffee thanks to Starbucks and listens to its music shaped by its grunge heritage. Designers, builders and dreamers – the city has a simply superb track record on and off the pitch.

Long before Microsoft and Starbucks ever arrived, the land now called Seattle was home to the Coast Salish peoples – particularly the Duwamish and Suquamish, who thrived for thousands of years around Puget Sound. These communities built rich cultures around salmon fisheries, cedar forests, and the rhythms of the tides. The modern city, established in the 1850s by settlers led by Arthur Denny, was named after Chief Si’ahl – or Seattle – a respected Indigenous leader known for diplomacy and peacekeeping during a time of rapid colonisation by Europeans. That legacy, of a place shaped by respect between locals and new arrivals, remains embedded in the civic fabric – and increasingly acknowledged by the city’s sports clubs.

The most recent Sounder’s kit is a great example: Created in partnership with Connie McCloud, Gail White Eagle, and Danielle Morsette— artists from the Puyallup, Muckleshoot, and Suquamish Tribes—the 2024 kit is a powerful tribute to the region’s First Peoples and its sacred environment. Inspired by traditional Coast Salish weaving techniques like twilling and twining, the design features flowing geometric patterns that echo water, balance, and continuity. The zig-zags and lines of blues and greens symbolises reflects the natural harmony of the Salish Sea, with sea grass, forest, and waves all represented on the shirt. The label features the words “Water Is Sacred,” written in both English and Southern Lushootseed, the traditional language of the region’s tribes. On the back of the neck, a series of symbols—an orca tail, a wave, and a flowing “S” for Sounders—tie together themes of legacy, stewardship, and place.

Seattle Sounders FC is more than a successful football club. It’s a civic institution – one with fan ownership, local heroes like Russell Wilson, Macklemore, and Ken Griffey Jr. in its investor group, and a fan culture driven by supporter organisations like the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC. Lumen Field – which the Sounders share with the Seahawks and boasts a unique design that allows fans to see the cityscape above the field  – regularly sees attendances over 30,000, making it one of the best-supported clubs in MLS. That stadium, like the badge, is a point of pride.

Even the club’s economic model reflects Seattle’s DNA: democratic, community-focussed, and creative. Supporters can vote on key decisions through the Sounders FC Alliance Council, and the club engages with environmental and social justice initiatives across the Pacific Northwest. In this, the Sounders mirror the values of the city they represent – progressive, pioneering, and proud of their roots.

Seattle Sounders FC may not have the century-long legacy of Europe’s biggest clubs, but in just a few decades they have built something rare: a team with trophies, purpose, and a badge and colour scheme, that is deeply embedded in a very proud past – and an exciting future.