Nobody Is More Excited for the 2026 World Cup Than Marshawn Lynch

The Seahawks legend opens up about Oakland’s soccer culture, his appreciation for Kylian Mbappé and more ahead of the World Cup.

Marshawn Lynch is co-owner of the Oakland Roots SC. | Chris Unger/Getty Images

Seahawks legend Marshawn Lynch grew accustomed to tearing up CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) week in and week out, en route to the Seattle’s back-to-back Super Bowl appearances in 2013 and 2014. Now, he’s excited to watch his hallowed grounds become one of 16 hosts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup this summer.

Lynch, nicknamed “Beast Mode,” plans to attend a couple of games, one in Seattle and one at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The five-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XLVIII champion has a long-standing appreciation for the other type of “football,” a sentiment that was cemented during a crossover trip the Seahawks took back in 2022. The team traveled to Munich to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Allianz Arena—the first regular-season NFL game in Germany—bringing along Lynch, who was then already retired and working in an off-field role. The Seahawks created a series called “Marshawn Takes Munich,” during which Lynch became engrossed in the nation’s soccer culture, learning all about Bayern Munich and meeting the likes of Leroy Sané and Harry Kane. He discovered the intricate and competitive youth development programs that every top soccer club has, which earned his respect.

“We went out there and met these soccer guys, just that whole situation of bringing kids from all over the world to Germany to learn underneath their umbrella, their feeder program,” Lynch tells Sports Illustrated. “Watching the process of what these guys and girls actually go through to get to that point. I didn’t know it was that d--- sophisticated. That whole program is very, very, very f---ing sophisticated.”

“At the end of the day, when you look at it, you see all these guys, the Messi’s, the Mbappé’s, it’s like, ‘Oh, these guys been doing this s--- since forever and putting in the work,” he says. “So for them to be as good as they is compared to everybody else, you know that they putting in some kind of work, and they just special as f---. So knowing that, and then being able to to go to the games and seeing it on a big scale here, I’m really excited about the atmosphere.”

“And for whatever reason, it just looked like the soccer fans know how to f---ing party.”

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Soccer in Oakland

The USL Championship side Oakland Roots SC play at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum | Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images

Lynch’s respect for the world’s most popular game began long before the Munich trip, back to when he was just a kid growing up in Oakland.

“Growing up in Oakland, soccer was something you couldn’t escape,” he says. “They made us play everything. I think I got my first real taste of soccer with a game we used to play called kickball, but then I went and tried out for one of the little league soccer teams over at Mosswood Park when I was hella young.”

“I fell out of reach [of the sport] when the first practice I went to, we ran probably at least, close to like 15 miles. I don’t think I’m the right body type,” he says with a laugh. “But as an athlete, I for sure can appreciate all aspects of every sport ... I see how f---ing serious that s--- [soccer] is. I think I made the right decision by playing football.”

Lynch may not have personally stuck with soccer back in Oakland, but he has since been integral in promoting the sport in the community. He co-owns the USL Championship side Oakland Roots SC, joining the ownership group back in 2021.

The Oakland Roots compete in the USL Championship. | Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/Getty Images

“It came at a very important time in Oakland because we was losing all of our sports teams,” he says. “...It was more about cementing myself in the sports culture and Oakland being a part of something new.”

“All our fields that is out in Oakland at any time, day or night, you can find a full soccer game going on, so it’s always been a part of the city. So I know how important it is to our community.”

As for the upcoming World Cup, Lynch partnered with Lay’s to create a “Bandwagon” commercial campaign that encourages new fans to learn about and appreciate soccer, just as he does. Lynch is most looking forward to watching French star Kylian Mbappé, who won the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot and is set for similar glory this time around.

“When I’m looking at him, I’m like d---, there’s somebody who actually looks like me, and then just seeing how f---ing fast bro was, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, dude is different,’” Lynch says. “That’s somebody who I’m really excited to watch.”

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