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Clean Team keeps Seattle looking its best for World Cup

SEATTLE — The eyes of the world are on Seattle with the World Cup in town, and a team of dedicated workers are making sure it’s presentable for them.

On Wednesday’s game day, thousands of people surrounded Seattle Stadium. Brittany Jordan, a Clean Team ambassador, worked her way through the crowd on her e-trike, broom, and dustpan at the ready.

“I had heard about the World Cup and that we were hosting it, but I didn’t think that it was this big,” she told KIRO 7. “I don’t think it’s really sunk in, how big it is.”

She got as close to the action as one can get without a ticket, fielding calls from dispatch and keeping the streets clean for the visitors. She’s been on the job for two years, but this assignment is something totally new.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “I’m so excited, I am so happy.”

Jordan is one of more than 100 Clean Team ambassadors, responsible for removing more than 1 million gallons of trash and around 40,000 graffiti tags annually. This summer, they have a special focus on the stadium and Pioneer Square.

“On match days, there are a lot more of us down here,” Jordan said.

Their work goes beyond just cleaning up; they are also meant to act as guides, helping visitors find their way around town, often with the help of a translator app.

Their work is paying off.

“It is very fantastic here,” one international soccer fan told KIRO 7. “And the atmosphere is also fantastic.”

That fan from Mumbai, India, said this was his first visit to Seattle. He was impressed by the cleanliness in particular.

“Very nice and very nicely managed,” he said. “It is a beautiful place. I have also visited other places in the US, but Seattle is very nice.”

Jordan told KIRO 7 that part of her job is leading by example.

“If you care, they care,” she said of the visitors. “And that’s what we are really seeing down here right now. People care because they see us out here, they see everything that’s going on and they’re very respectful. It’s been really amazing.”

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