{"id":285911,"date":"2026-02-11T15:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/285911\/"},"modified":"2026-02-11T15:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:04:13","slug":"the-world-cup-is-coming-to-the-bay-area-but-it-will-look-nothing-like-the-super-bowl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/285911\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup is coming to the Bay Area, but it will look nothing like the Super Bowl"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the <\/a>Section 415 email newsletter here<\/a> and subscribe to the \u201cSection 415″ podcast <\/a>wherever you listen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

After welcoming more than 90,000 visitors, hosting 300-plus events, and providing a 24\/7 stage for TV cameras from all over the world during Super Bowl week, the Bay Area can breathe a sigh of relief.<\/p>\n

For a moment.<\/p>\n

The biggest event in North American sports may be over, but the biggest event in the world is on its way. The 2026 men\u2019s World Cup will feature 48 teams and 104 matches across 16 North American venues, one of which is Levi\u2019s Stadium. The Santa Clara venue will host six matches between June 13 and July 1, including a round-of-32 game that the U.S. men\u2019s national team could play in \u2014 if it wins Group D.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we\u2019ll take like three days off, but then we\u2019ll come right back after,\u201d said Bay Area Host Committee CEO Zaileen Janmohamed. \u201cIt will be a 90\/10 split on the World Cup and then finalizing all of the Super Bowl reconciliation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

FIFA named the \u201cSan Francisco Bay Area\u201d one of 16 host cities in June 2022, 11 months before the NFL selected Levi\u2019s Stadium as the venue for Super Bowl 60.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite that regional designation, all six games will be played in Santa Clara. And while the NFL set up operations 43 miles north of the stadium at San Francisco\u2019s Moscone Center and hosted its buzziest events in the city, FIFA is unlikely to follow suit.<\/p>\n

The pivot to San Jose<\/p>\n

In January 2025, San Jose named former U.S. Olympic speed skater Tommy O\u2019Hare as its sports and special events director. City manager Jennifer Maguire conducted a nationwide search for the position, which was created so that Levi\u2019s Stadium visitors \u201cwould stay and play in our vibrant and diverse city.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, San Jose is tired of watching tourists flock to San Francisco when major sporting events are held next door in Santa Clara. O\u2019Hare\u2019s job is to bring out-of-towners downtown \u2014 and give locals a taste of the action too. \u201cWe want to make sure that the residents feel a sense of inclusion and community pride from these big sporting events,\u201d O\u2019Hare said, even if they pass on buying tickets \u201cbecause they\u2019re so expensive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the days leading up to the Super Bowl, the Bay Area Host Committee held a concert series in San Francisco featuring Benson Boone, Shaboozey, and Chris Stapleton. Tickets for the Stapleton concert went for $650.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Today<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

4 days ago<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a><\/p>\n

Tuesday, Feb. 3<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

San Jose, meanwhile, bootstrapped its own series, with Kehlani and DJ Dom Dolla playing back-to-back nights outside City Hall \u2014 at a much more affordable price point. \u201cI think the most expensive ticket was $85 or below,\u201d O\u2019Hare said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city also held the free, three-day San Pedro SuperFest in downtown\u2019s San Pedro Square, offering a local alternative to the official weeklong Super Bowl Experience at Moscone Center.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Expect a different vibe at the World Cup. For a Super Bowl, league officials, star players, celebrities, and media from across the country descend on one city for a solid week. The World Cup, in contrast, is more like a traveling circus, as teams and their supporters move from city to city throughout the tournament, never stopping for more than a few days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe World Cup is going to be different,\u201d Janmohamed said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a longer event with a much more international fan base that comes into the Bay. The footprint, or I would say the area of focus, will probably be much more South Bay than San Francisco.\u201d<\/p>\n

In San Jose, the committee will expand its Bridge to Work program. The workforce development initiative debuted ahead of the 2025 NBA All-Star Game and was designed to \u201ccreate a defined roadmap to stable employment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oluwadamilola \u201cDami\u201d Bolarinwa, a Nigerian immigrant, is one of nearly 300 Bridge to Work participants who worked during Super Bowl week. After joining Bridge to Work, Bolarinwa secured a job as a senior account executive with Kyocera in the Bay Area. The former college soccer player hopes to keep his side gig through the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I can be able to work the World Cup next, why not?\u201d said Bolarinwa, who assisted with the NFL Fan Experience at Moscone Center. \u201cI want to be in front of all the electric fans that are just happy to just be around the atmosphere. As a sports fan, that\u2019s all you can ask for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AStanford Stadium in Palo Alto was one of nine venues to host World Cup matches in 1994. | Source: Peter Robinson – PA Images via Getty ImagesThe South Bay\u2019s sport<\/p>\n

Soccer has a deep history in the South Bay. With two pro teams, a women\u2019s powerhouse at Santa Clara, and elite men\u2019s and women\u2019s programs at Stanford, the South Bay and Peninsula form a talent-rich region where the sport was celebrated long before it became mainstream in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 1994, Stanford Stadium was one of nine domestic venues to host World Cup matches. More than 80,000 fans watched the U.S. men\u2019s national team meet its demise there in an Independence Day loss to Brazil.<\/p>\n

The 1-0 defeat wasn\u2019t exactly a crushing blow to locals. After the game, Brazilian fans swarmed the streets of Los Gatos \u2014 outside the team hotel at the former Lodge at the Villa Felice (opens in new tab)<\/a> \u2014 and residents joined the party.<\/p>\n

After three wins in Palo Alto, Brazil went on to win its fourth men\u2019s World Cup title at the Rose Bowl, leaving a lasting impression on a region just warming up to soccer.<\/p>\n

San Jose Earthquakes legend Chris Wondolowski was 11 and living in Danville when the World Cup arrived in the Bay Area. He called the \u201ccarnival down Main Street\u201d in Los Gatos a \u201ccatalyst\u201d for his career. \u201cI was able to watch Brazil practice, and it was a closed practice, but myself and my dad and my brothers were looking through a fence.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Wondolowski went on to score a franchise-record 167 goals with the Earthquakes and 11 for the U.S. national team.<\/p>\n

Five years after the U.S. hosted the men\u2019s World Cup, San Jose\u2019s Brandi Chastain scored a title-clinching penalty kick in the 1999 women\u2019s World Cup final, also at the Rose Bowl, ripping off her shirt in one of the most famous celebrations in modern sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chastain is one of Bay FC\u2019s \u201cFounding Four,\u201d joining San Jose natives Aly Wagner and Danielle Slaton and former Santa Clara star Leslie Osborne in the ownership group of the National Women\u2019s Soccer League expansion franchise. The team, which plays home games at PayPal Park in San Jose, averaged more than 13,000 fans and ranked fifth among 14 teams in attendance in its inaugural 2024 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"FiveBay FC\u2019s \u201cFounding Four\u201d pose with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades\/The StandardBringing people together<\/p>\n

If the Super Bowl is an all-American event with global appeal, this year\u2019s World Cup is a global event designed to capture American attention. Levi\u2019s Stadium will host Algeria, Australia, Austria, Jordan, Paraguay, and Switzerland before a round-of-32 knockout match July 1.<\/p>\n

San Jose will hold watch parties at San Pedro Square Market during all six World Cup matches at Levi\u2019s Stadium. The city will also host drone shows and outdoor concerts downtown throughout the tournament. The goal is to blend civic pride with cultural celebrations and bring residents downtown to gather alongside visitors from around the world.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSan Jose is the biggest city by population in the Bay Area,\u201d O\u2019Hare said. \u201cIt\u2019s very culturally diverse. And so that lines up well with the World Cup, because there\u2019s so many different nationalities who take part in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The games at Levi\u2019s Stadium may not include the likes of the 1994 Brazil squad, but having part of the action in town could inspire the next generation of Bay Area players. \u201cThat love for the game, that\u2019s where it started for me,\u201d Wondolowski said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m hoping that 2026 will have that similar bond, where you feel attached to it. Hopefully the U.S. will make a great run.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want more ways to catch up on the latest in Bay Area sports? Sign up for the Section…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":285912,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[437,434,435,436,438,146,85,46,105,34880,6866],"class_list":{"0":"post-285911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-il","15":"tag-israel","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-super-bowl","18":"tag-world-cup"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/285912"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}