Mercer Island’s Lisa Chin has scored a critical and groundbreaking position on the SeattleFWC26 organizing committee squad: chief legacy officer.
On Oct. 2, the Seattle FIFA World Cup 26 local commission that is ushering the 2026 World Cup to Washington introduced Chin — a 10-year Island resident — into her role and accentuated that it “exemplifies an unprecedented commitment to harnessing the full potential of hosting such prestigious events,” according to a press release.
The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 16 host cities — including Seattle — 48 teams and 104 matches. Local games will kick into gear on the Seattle Sounders FC’s first-rate home pitch at Lumen Field.
“In 1962, the World’s Fair transformed Seattle into a hub for science and technology, and we aim to replicate this transformative effect with the FIFA World Cup 26,” said Peter Tomozawa, chief executive officer of SeattleFWC26, in the release.
Chin, a former CEO for both the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County and the local nonprofit Treehouse that serves youth in foster care, told the Reporter that she is excited, grateful and honored to join Tomozawa and the diligent organization in showcasing Seattle to the world when the Cup bounces onto local soil.
“One of the things that we’re hoping is that with our partnership with the city and also with the county and the state (and with other nonprofits) that we can contribute to the revitalization of Seattle,” she said.
Making the city thrive once again will take a full team effort, said Chin, who is vastly familiar with this crucial concept through her many years leading organizations and serving on boards that support women, children, the arts, education and more. She said that Seattle is ready to step up as a world-class city and host the Cup and whatever else arrives at its doorstep.
SeattleFWC26’s legacy pillars are focused on human rights, accessibility, environmental sustainability, culture, community and children. For starters, the committee will collaborate with the Seattle Sounders FC charitable arm, Rave Foundation, to launch the 26 Fields by 2026 campaign to bring play equity to Washington youth in historically marginalized communities.
The organization has also teamed up with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, naming the tribe an official legacy supporter. This historic partnership, in which Chin played an integral role in attaining, according to the organization, enables indigenous people to formally participate in men’s World Cup festivities for the first time ever, the release noted.
Chin said she is driven in her life and career by a piece of advice that her father placed into her mindset: Never forget where you came from.
“It’s part of our obligation as humans to support each other. It is about a community, it’s not about me as a person. It’s about how successful I can be in working with and bringing people together so that something greater happens from all of our efforts,” she noted, adding that her parents and grandparents were the children of immigrants and they all resided in New York City’s Chinatown on the lower east side of the city.
On the Mercer Island front and across the regional landscape, Chin and her colleagues aim to get a plethora of residents involved through match-watching parties, volunteering and spreading the word about the world’s game.
“The world comes to Seattle. There’s going to be so many people, so many teams and it will be a great thing for all of us to participate in,” Chin said.
The World Cup-Mercer Island connection was in full force during the 2022 competition in Qatar when Mercer Island High School graduate and Sounders FC’s Jordan Morris put his boots into action for the United States squad.
For more information, visit https://seattlefwc26.org/
