On Oct. 29 and 30, the Bay Area Host Committee welcomed FIFA officials to Levi’s Stadium. The visit is part of the Bay Area’s bid to be one of 16 host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Bay Area leaders including San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and San Francisco Mayor London Breed joined a coalition of local businesses including Salesforce, Google and Levi’s to showcase the Bay Area for FIFA officials.
During the two-day visit, FIFA officials toured Levi’s Stadium and learned about the region’s broader sustainability.
“The South Bay has a rich history in hosting international soccer and boasts the world-class venues needed to get the job done in 2026. We also have the infrastructure and passion needed to leverage the economic boost the event would bring to the area for the long-term development of soccer,” said Liccardo.
While North America has already secured the bid to host one of the biggest sporting events in the world, FIFA is still determining which cities will host games. There are currently 22 cities under consideration across Mexico, Canada and the United States.
Al Guido, 49ers President and Board President for the Bay Area 2026 Committee, says the Bay Area has already proven it can host impactful events like the World Cup.
“The excitement and community spirit unique to the Bay Area has been directed at soccer for generations, going back to the FIFA World Cup matches the area hosted in 1994 and 1999, which were a huge success,” said Guido. “There’s no doubt in my mind the 2026 FIFA World Cup would inspire an even bigger response, and we’re honored to be leading the Bay Area’s bid to host this exciting, crowd-drawing event. Levi’s Stadium is a world-class venue that has shown it’s capable of hosting premier national and global events, and we would be a fantastic stage for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
Levi’s Stadium has played host to significant sporting events in the past, including matches in the 2016 Copa America Centenario, 2017 Concacaf Gold Cup and multiple International Champions Cups. Levi’s Stadium also hosted the Super Bowl 50 in 2016.
FIFA will announce the host cities in early 2022. For more information, visit www.bayarea2026.com.