Perhaps no city has received more positive reviews during the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup than Seattle. As good as that feels in the moment, the potential lasting impact is arguably more important.
While the responsibility for picking up the baton does not solely rest on the Seattle Sounders, as the local men's soccer team they do have an outsized role to play.
During an availability with the local press, Sounders GM Craig Waibel embraced that idea while also shedding some light on the team’s roster-building plans.
"I feel a great responsibility in terms of how we’re approaching and how we’re coming out of what was, undoubtedly the No. 1 soccer city in America over the last month," he said. "It is the only city that has a true full-day experience for a fan. Whether it was the waterfront marching through the city all the way up to Pacific Place, we saw what this can be and how inviting it is. We need to play a style that attracts these fans that are now discovering — some for the first time, some just rediscovering, some maybe saying 'I’ll give it a chance.'"
Here are some of the main takeaways from the availability:
Summer signing?!?
To his credit, Waibel did not shy away from the Sounders’ need for more offense. He specifically called out the need to score more goals, not just from a practical standpoint, but as a way of entertaining fans and capturing some of the excitement that could be flowing over from the World Cup. Beyond that, he even called out the need for the strikers, specifically, to score more goals and strongly suggested that was the position they are looking to upgrade.
"Once a player's here, I don’t care what they earn or what they’re called or what their title is; it’s just another name on the roster," he said. "If they don’t perform, then we need to figure out a new name on the roster.
"That's the pressure the players have, to make sure that I am not forced into a position to go out and look for the next player. If we don’t see the answer from one of the guys we have very soon, we might need to make a move this summer."
While good to hear him acknowledge the need for the Sounders to improve on the 17 goals they’ve scored in the first 13 games of the MLS season, it should be noted that the summer transfer window opens on July 13 (a few days from now) and closes on Sept. 2. That doesn't leave much time for dithering.
As he did a year ago, Waibel was also clear that he’s not just looking to make "a" signing, but that he specifically is only looking for players who will both raise the Sounders’ current offensive ceiling and push for starter's minutes.
"We don’t need a player that's not going to start," he said. "We are a balanced team. We’re a good team. We are a competitive team. But if we’re not going to bring in something special, I am not sure acting just to act is anything more than performative. Because we also have good character and good continuity right now.
"We are pursuing players that we know would come in and start. Players that we know could possibly create a really tough decision at the back end of an acquisition on how we adjust our roster to accommodate something like that."
