Fans who went to watch the match between the United States and Paraguay on Friday (12), the first of the 2026 World Cup on American soil, may have been surprised: why had they never heard of ‘Los Angeles Stadium’?
The stadium where the NFL (American football league) teams Rams and Chargers usually play is known as SoFi Stadium. However, FIFA applies a “clean stadium” policy, which prohibits the display of commercial brands that are not among its official sponsors.
Companies like SoFi, MetLife and NRG, who signed multimillion-dollar contracts for the ‘naming rights’ of their respective stadiums, saw those venues temporarily renamed New York and New Jersey Stadium and Houston Stadium for the sporting event.
“They’re not happy. They paid a lot of money to have visibility in these stadiums, but it’s one of those things they probably couldn’t avoid in this situation,” Rick Burton, professor emeritus at Syracuse University’s Falk College of Sport, told AFP.
As all World Cup matches are being played in existing venues, unlike the 2022 tournament in Qatar where several stadiums were built specifically for the event, these temporary name changes attract attention, he says.
The only 2026 World Cup stadium not affected by this rule is BC Place in Vancouver. “The official stadium names for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been adapted to the names of the host cities and may differ from the common names used locally,” FIFA said on the tournament website.
Not all locations were able to fully comply with the standards. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (renamed Atlanta Stadium) couldn’t find a way to hide the automaker’s giant logo installed on the stadium’s roof.
Unable to cover the logo without damaging the structure, football’s highest governing body allowed it to remain visible, according to reports in the American press.
“FIFA is working closely with stadium authorities and host cities to implement brand protection requirements consistent with previous editions of the tournament, taking into account operational and infrastructure considerations specific to each venue,” the organization told The Athletic.
In Seattle, the telecommunications company Lumen decided to face the situation with good humor, producing a fun video at the stadium it sponsors, the usual home of the Seahawks, from the NFL, and the Sounders, from the MLS, the American football league.
“As fans from around the world descend on our city and our stadium, my job is to make sure our brand doesn’t appear anywhere,” Ryan Asdourian, the company’s chief strategy and marketing officer, said in the video.
Wearing a helmet and wearing a fluorescent safety vest, the executive appears searching the place looking for any reference to Lumen, and the company’s logo ends up being highlighted, at least within the video itself.
As the Olympics also adopt a similar policy, SoFi Stadium will have to remove its sponsor’s branding again two years from now, when it will host, among other events, the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
