Move over, Super Bowl: The day FIFA let a couple get married on the field before a World Cup match

Twenty-eight years ago, a single summer day brought one Norwegian soccer fan two causes for celebration. On June 23, 1998, Oivind Ekeland got married in southern France - and to top things off, his national team claimed a stunning win over Brazil, the defending champions, at the men’s World Cup.

“We knew that was a sign”

But what makes Ekeland’s double dose of joy unusual is that both wedding and soccer match took place at the same location. Shortly before Norway’s group-stage victory at Marseille’s Stade Vélodrome, Ekeland and his Brazilian fiancée, fellow beautiful-game enthusiast Rosangela de Souza, tied the knot out on the field.

“When we saw the draw, that Brazil and Norway were playing in the World Cup, we knew that was a sign,” Ekeland told an interview with CBS News at the time. The couple wrote to FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, asking for permission to stage their nuptials at the game. “A week later, we got a letter saying it was OK,” Ekeland said.

According to contemporary news reports, Ekeland and De Souza were married by a Norwegian pastor who had flown out to Marseille for the occasion. Thirty of Ekeland’s family and friends also made the trip, as did De Souza’s sister, who travelled to France from Rio.

“The wedding party started at the Sofitel Hotel [a five-star hotel in Marseille’s historic Vieux-Port Port area], and a white 1984 Cadillac convertible took the couple to the stadium,” read an account published in the Herald-Times on June 28, 1998. “There, champagne and fancy canapes were laid out in the VIP compound.

“De Souza wore a white dress and a pearl tiara. Until he changed to his tux, Elkeland [sic] was barefoot in Norwegian soccer shorts, a yellow Brazil No. 9 jersey with ‘Ronaldo’ across the back, and a black top hat.”

Ekeland and De Souza had first met in Rio de Janeiro - an encounter that seems to have produced an instant romantic spark. “The second I saw that woman I knew I wasn’t leaving Rio without her,” Ekeland said, per The Herald-Times. De Souza agreed: “I knew immediately this was my Prince Charming, who had come to take me away.”

Rekdal spot-kick stuns the Seleção

Having become husband and wife on the Vélodrome field, Ekeland and De Souza then watched Norway inflict what remains Brazil’s only defeat in the opening group stage of a men’s World Cup since 1966. Although Bebeto gave the Brazilians the lead with just 12 minutes left in Marseille, Tore-Andre Flo quickly levelled, before Kjetil Rekdal’s last-minute penalty earned a historic victory.

Norway’s 2-1 triumph ensured they joined Brazil in advancing from Group A, taking the Scandinavians into the round of 16 for the first time in five decades.

Having been upset by Norway, however, De Souza’s Brazil picked themselves up to reach that year’s final, despatching Chile, Denmark and the Netherlands on their way to the title game in Paris. And, although they were beaten to the trophy by co-hosts France, the Canarinha claimed a fifth world title four years later.

For Norway, meanwhile, defeat to Italy in the ‘98 last 16 would prove their last game at a men’s World Cup for nearly three decades. Six unsuccessful qualification campaigns followed, before a team led by Premier League stars Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard reached this summer’s tournament in North America.

From the World Cup to the Super Bowl

Judging by the viral images of this Brazilian wedding, which clashed with the Seleção’s 2026 World Cup opener against Morocco last weekend, Ekeland and De Souza may have had the right idea - at least when it comes to holding guests’ attention. If you set your big day to coincide with the big game, why not get married at the big game?

In sports, there are other major examples of this. In NFL, notably, a couple took part in a wedding ceremony out on the field at Levi’s Stadium this February, at the Seattle Seahawks’ Super Bowl LX win over the New England Patriots.

The nuptials - which the league confirmed were genuine - were part of the NFL title game’s traditional halftime show, a musical performance that this year starred the Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny.

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