There is a physical perimeter around every stadium at this World Cup and once you pass through, there are rules. Welcome to Fifa-Land. No large banners. No political imagery of any kind. No offensive symbols. No commercial material. No inflatables. No musical instruments taller than 12cm. No binoculars. No significant quantities of paper, which is left open to interpretation. No frisbees. No detonators, which is reassuring.
Inside, organisers have gone to extraordinary lengths to cleanse stadiums of all unofficial branding in order to meet Fifa’s “clean-site” policy, a kind of sanitised insanity that feels entirely in-keeping with the general ethos of football’s global governing body.
Fifa contracts with World Cup venues forbid “advertising, marketing, promotion, merchandising, licensing, signage or other commercial identification of any kind on any stands, scoreboards, seats, seatbacks, time clocks, staff uniforms, Accreditation passes, fences or elsewhere inside, surrounding, or in the airspace above and around the Stadium other than that which is installed by, or at the direction of, FIFA or which is approved in writing by FIFA.”
From New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium to LA’s SoFi Stadium and everywhere in between, World Cup venues have been scrubbed clean. That includes their names, which have taken on a geographical format during the tournament. Lincoln Financial Field has been renamed the Philadelphia Stadium, a move that has been reflected on Google Maps. Every trace of the words “Lincoln Financial Field” has been painstakingly covered up with tape or tarp.
The AT&T Stadium has been renamed Dallas Stadium despite being in Arlington, and the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara has been renamed the clunky and vague-sounding San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. Most egregious is Mexico’s Estadio Azteca, perhaps the most storied place in World Cup history, a coliseum where Pele’s Brazil and Diego Maradona’s Argentina won the World Cup. It has been renamed the Mexico City Stadium to fit Fifa conventions.
In Boston, the tiny “Gillette” branding on every single seat inside the 65,878-capacity stadium has been taped over. In San Francisco, even the brand names of condiments have been redacted, as if they contain government secrets. The clamp down on brands extends to the players. Germany’s Jamal Musiala was seen wearing headphones before kick-off in their opening match in Houston with the manufacturer’s name covered over.
It is part of what Fifa calls its “Venue Dressing Programme”, for which it has hired agencies The Look Company and Wasserman Live to consult on how best to present the venues. It is big business. Brands like Metlife pay as much as £15m per year to sponsor a stadium. But Fifa’s dedication to protecting sponsors’ exclusivity is why it will earn an estimated $1.8bn in marketing revenue for 2026.
Some of Fifa’s unofficial brands have turned erasure into opportunity. Levi’s produced a viral marketing campaign in which the company covered up its own logo on social media, and joked on the fact that the giant Levi’s sign on the stadium’s outer wall is still clearly recognisable under a white sheet because of its distinctive shape.
Mercedes-Benz was able to get away with retaining its giant symbol on the roof of the stadium named after the company in Atlanta, because it was too challenging to safely remove or cover. The eight distinct panels each weigh 500 tonnes.
Lumen was not so lucky, and the huge letters which span 300ft on top of the Lumen Stadium, which window-seat passengers flying into Seattle can see on their approach to land, have been covered up. Even so, the company had some fun on social media, showing employees rushing round the stadium trying to hide the name.
The purpose of debranding the venues is to leave space for Fifa’s harem of exclusive sponsors. Why Fifa needs an official dairy sponsor (Mengniu) or an official automotive services supporter (Valvolene) is unclear. But they are paying big money and do not want rival names benefitting from the World Cup’s commercial pull.
Powerade, which is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, is the official sports drink of the Fifa World Cup, and the company has taken ownership of the hydration breaks both in stadiums and on US channel Fox Sports. The controversy around the breaks – which are now routinely booed by football fans at each and every game – is only increasing Powerade’s exposure.
Perhaps the the cleverest ploy among Fifa’s partners is the Australian deodorant brand Rexona, known as Sure in the UK and Degree in the US and Canada. Rexona’s name can be seen emblazoned on the fourth officials’ boards when they indicate substitutions or added minutes at the end of each half. The logo can also be spotted under their armpits, so every time an official lifts the digital board over their head, Rexona is displayed on their body too. The company clearly has faith that the Adidas jerseys worn by match officials won’t show perspiration.
