NEW YORK — Two days before the World Cup final, Andrew Giuliani had a pitch to see.
The executive director of the White House Task Force on the 2026 FIFA World Cup had just exited 30 Rock, with the revolving doors opening directly into the NYNJ World Cup 26 & Telemundo Fan Village. Giuliani stood nearly in the shadow of a nearly 28-foot-tall Lego replica of the World Cup trophy, and at this moment, he wasn’t off to see the actual match pitch in New Jersey, but, rather, a small soccer field staged in the same sunken space occupied by the famous ice rink every winter.
The temporarily named New York New Jersey Stadium may be hosting Spain and Argentina for a couple hours Sunday, but Friday, New York City was the epicenter of the global soccer business.
“When FIFA ultimately selected New York to host the final, there were other cities that had fantastic bids and fantastic ideas, but you’re talking about a city that might not be the capital of the state of New York, might not be the capital of the United States of America, but it is the capital of the world,” Giuliani told SBJ, marveling at “how the United States of America over the last 37 days has been shown in its greatest light.”
Populating Rockefeller Center were booths from Lenovo, Home Depot, Panini, Lego and Bank of America, whose charm bracelets were the surprise hit of the tournament. Lines to gain access to the booth started forming around 6am, with tickets distributed at 7 for time slots later in the day; the day’s allotment was claimed by 9:30am. An official FIFA retail location took up residency in a Rock Center storefront, while at least one nearby NYC street vendor was selling (presumably unofficial) World Cup soccer jerseys.
BofA recently estimated a $40B overall economic impact from the World Cup on the continent, with $20B in the U.S. alone. Former USMNT player and current Fox Sports analyst Cobi Jones arrived in New York on Thursday evening and saw plenty of jerseys around the city.
“That’s what you want, not just on game day, but in the buildup — that European vibe,” Jones said.
Noting that Los Angeles hosted the 1994 final, Jones added that it only made sense to bring this championship match to the country’s other bicoastal metropolis. “It’s going to sound cheesy, but it’s New York‚” he said. “It’s the center of business and media.”
A half-dozen blocks south of Fan Village was FIFA House, the federation’s premium hospitality space overlooking Bryant Park. It had transformed completely over the past week, from an empty, historic building into a bustling center of activity.
“What makes New York unique isn’t just that it hosts the World Cup final — it’s that the city becomes football’s global headquarters,” said Andrew Bimson, President of iLUKA Americas, which developed FIFA House. “For one week, every major stakeholder in the game is here, creating an unmatched concentration of ideas, investment, partnerships and influence.”
On the 10th floor of FIFA House was the Globant Tech Summit on Friday morning. The technology services provider and official FIFA sponsor is an Argentinian-headquartered company, so its executives, needless to say, were ebullient at the prospect of Sunday’s match. The panels featured speakers from Anthropic, FIFA, Fox Sports and La Liga with attendees from a variety of sectors. Nicolás Ávila, the CEO of Globant’s division overseeing sports, said that the NYC location helped attract a broader cross-section of attendees seeking cross-industry learnings.
Less than a mile away at the 40/40 Club was an exclusive invitation-only lunch held by Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin that included FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the commissioners of MLB, NBA and MLS (Rob Manfred, Adam Silver and Don Garber) and legendary athletes Tom Brady, LeBron James and Serena Williams.
Numerous soccer kits were spotted throughout Midtown Manhattan, and jerseys of all sports were en route to the Javits Center near Hudson Yards for Fanatics Fest, the bustling sports convention conceived of by Rubin. The energy will only grow throughout the day prior to the official FIFA World Cup final press conference held in conjunction with Fanatics Fest. Among the expected speakers were Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Spain’s Rodri.