The 2023 season is the 40th season of Seattle Sounders FC, a professional soccer team based in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is their 15th in Major League Soccer (MLS), the top flight of American soccer. The team was under the management of Brian Schmetzer in his seventh full MLS season as head coach of the Sounders.
Background
Early in the 2022 season, the Sounders won the CONCACAF Champions League by defeating UNAM of Liga MX. They became the first Major League Soccer team to win the CONCACAF Champions League and third to win an international CONCACAF competition. The season ended with the team missing the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in the league, snapping a 13-year streak—among the longest in professional North American sports. Four Sounders players were called up to international teams for the 2022 FIFA World Cup: forward Jordan Morris and midfielder Cristian Roldan for the United States; defeander Nouhou for Cameroon; and defender Xavier Arreaga for Ecuador.
The 2023 season is the first with jersey sponsor Providence Health & Services. The choice of Providence as sponsor was criticized by fans and several organizations, including the Emerald City Supporters and the Sounders FC Alliance Council, due to the healthcare system's policies on abortion and transgender care, as well as its treatment of low-income patients. It is also the first under a broadcast contract with Apple TV+, which will offer all league matches through its MLS Season Pass streaming platform. The club's television play-by-play commentator, Keith Costigan, joined Apple's national broadcast team while other members moved to the retained radio broadcast or other roles. A limited number of MLS matches will also be broadcast on U.S. television by Fox Sports.
Summary
Preseason and FIFA Club World Cup
Following the end of the 2022 season, general manager Garth Lagerwey departed Seattle to become president of Atlanta United FC. He was replaced by technical director Craig Waibel on November 30. During the offseason, the Sounders exercised their contract options on most of their roster with the exception of forward Will Bruin and midfielder Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez; defender Jimmy Medranda was also released into free agency. The club had 11 players with guaranteed contracts through the 2023 season, including most of their veteran squad. In late December, the club acquired forward Héber through a trade with New York City FC. Seattle also signed two Homegrown Players, midfielder Sota Kitahara and goalkeeper Jacob Castro. The club's two SuperDraft picks, forward Eythor Bjørgolfsson and defender Blake Bowen, were signed by reserve side Tacoma Defiance but continued to train with the first team.
The Sounders opened their training camp at Starfire Sports in Tukwila on January 4, 2023, with no injured outfield players following the return of João Paulo and Obed Vargas. The team played several intra-squad scrimmages during their Seattle training camp due to difficulty finding MLS and USL Championship teams teams with open schedules. The Sounders moved to Marbella, Spain, in late January as part of preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup hosted in Morocco the following month. There, the club played in split scrimmages on January 28 against two European teams: a scoreless draw with Wolfsberger AC of Austria and a 3–2 loss to Swedish side Hammarby IF.
Seattle entered the Club World Cup in the second round and lost 1–0 to Egypt's Al Ahly, conceding a deflected goal in the 88th minute. They were the first MLS team to play in the Club World Cup and earned $1 million in prize money as a participant. The team were eliminated from the tournament, but qualified for the expanded 2025 FIFA Club World Cup as one of four CONCACAF entrants. Following their return from Morocco, the Sounders played a closed-door scrimmage against Louisville City FC of the USL Championship and won 2–1 with a set of rotated lineups. Several players remained in limited training through the end of February due to injuries and fatigue, including Vargas and striker Raúl Ruidíaz.