MLS clubs in June will commemorate Pride Month and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in a number of ways, from Pride nights to fundraisers.
Throughout the month, together with all 27 clubs, MLS will highlight stories from the LGBTQ+ community and support Athlete Ally's Playing for Pride campaign, which brings together athletes, teams and leagues to support the mission of making sports inclusive for the LGBTQI+ community.
Below is a list of the activities clubs have lined up this Pride Month; the list will be updated throughout June.
- Pride night on June 27 match against Columbus Crew
- Sale of commemorative Pride Patch at the Verde Store at Q2 Stadium, with 20% of proceeds benefitting Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce's Education Fund
- Sale of Pride-themed apparel, including a pre-match jersey, at the Verde Store and MLSstore.com
- Auction of select game-worn jerseys to benefit Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce's Education Fund
- Option to round up purchases at the Verde Store in June, with round up donations to benefit Austin LGBT Chamber of Commerce's Education Fund
- Celebration of Soccer For All week with June 23 match against the Portland Timbers, where first 5,000 fans will receive a complimentary rainbow-designed bandana courtesy of Pepsi
- Pride T-shirt giveaway courtesy of Coushatta Casino Resort
- Pride night on June 26 match against CF Montreal, where the club will raise funds for Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- A leader of the LGBTQ+ community will be honored as the Hero of the Match on June 26
- Option to purchase the Pride bundle package for June 26 match, including a $5 donation to the Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- Sale of commemorative Pride Patch and Pride-themed items at Nashville's mobile shop to benefit Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
- Pride night on June 23 vs. New York Red Bulls
- Throughout June, a portion of all proceeds from sales of Revolution Pride merchandise at the Gillette Stadium Pro Shop will benefit the Boston Alliance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Youth – or BAGLY.
- Members of BAGLY’s Youth Leadership Council will be honored as the Revs’ Heroes of the Match.
- The Progress Pride Flag will fly above Gillette Stadium and be represented throughout the stadium, including on the iconic lighthouse.
- Players will don adidas Love Unites training tops for warm-ups, while several players will arrive to the game in Essential Pride t-shirts designed by Black-owned apparel company 195essential.
- The Boston Gay Men’s Chorus will sing the national anthem prior to the game, while “Lift Every Voice and Sing” will also be performed at a Revolution game for the first time.
- Ahead of the five-year anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Orlando City SC and the NWSL's Orlando Pride announced the Pride in Our City and Mission Rainbow initiatives
- The club's two June matches and surrounding activities will honor and pay tribute to the victims and survivors of the June 12, 2016 tragedy, and also aim to celebrate Pride Month
- Orlando Pride hosts NJ/NY Gotham FC at Exploria Stadium on Sunday, June 20, for the team’s Mission Rainbow match, while Orlando City will host the San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday, June 22, for Pride in Our City
- In support of these initiatives, both teams will wear specialty matchday items. Each team’s captain for the match will wear a rainbow armband, with both the Pride’s Ad Astra and City’s Thick N Thin kit featuring rainbow numbers
- Through the activations and tributes across the club's two home matches in June, the Orlando City Foundation will be auctioning a number of items to raise money for local organizations and events
- To commemorate the five-year anniversary, Orlando City will be donating six seats from Exploria Stadium’s #OrlandoUnited section to the National Pulse Memorial & Museum’s permanent collection
- For the first time, fans will have the opportunity to customize their Orlando Pride kit using the rainbow numbers, which will be available for purchase through The Den at Exploria Stadium and on ShopOrlandoPride.com
- For every goal scored by the Portland Timbers and Thorns in June, the club will make a $100 donation to the Q Center.
- The club's partnership with the Q Center will include proceeds from its second TikTok For Good scarf, with the Q Center set to receive proceeds from each scarf sold.
- A Stand Together T-shirt honoring Pride is available through PTFC Authentics. Sales from the shirt will benefit New Avenues for Youth, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to the prevention and intervention of youth homelessness” which operates a sexual and gender minority youth resource center (SMYRC).
- Pride night on June 26 against the Vancouver Whitecaps
- Support for gender-inclusive toolkit by Washington Interscholastic Activities Association and Gender Diversity
- Collaboration with Intentionalist tor the Spend With Pride program, spotlighting local LGBTQ+-owned small businesses
- Sounders will invite gender diverse youth to participate in a poetry workshop and soccer clinic on June 7
- Lumen Field's rooftop arch will be lit in rainbow colors from June 21 to June 27
- The Progressive Pride flag will fly over Lumen Field from June 24 to June 27
