Context: Spain’s victory over Argentina concluded the 2026 FIFA World Cup on July 19. The tournament was memorable for several reasons. First, Donald Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino to ask him not to suspend a U.S. national team player before the round-of-16 match. Second, it marked the farewell of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modrić, Manuel Neuer, and Neymar. Finally, there were several upsets. Cape Verde advanced to the knockout stage after avoiding defeat against reigning European champions Spain in the group stage.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan qualified for the World Cup for the first time, becoming the only team from a post-Soviet country in the tournament. Russia was suspended from FIFA competitions in 2022. Meanwhile, Belarus participated in the qualifiers but finished last in its group. The United States was one of the host countries for the championship.
On July 12, 2026, Artsiom Anikin, head of the soccer development department at the Homel Regional Soccer Federation and a vlogger, said on TRK Gomel that the 2026 World Cup was the first tournament at which commercial stadium names had been prohibited..
“At all stadiums that have naming-rights agreements — and we all know that stadiums make money from their names — the names of companies that declined to sign an agreement with FIFA were covered up. This is the only World Cup in which something like this has ever occurred. The only one. That’s never happened before because that’s the name of the stadium,” said Anikin.
Many stadiums were given neutral names for the duration of the 2026 World Cup. For example, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara was referred to as the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, while MetLife Stadium was renamed New York New Jersey Stadium. FIFA specifically noted that the official names of the tournament’s stadiums may differ from their customary local names.
But this was not “the only World Cup in which something like this has ever occurred.” FIFA has had a “clean stadium” policy in place for a long time. It protects the interests and exclusive rights of the tournament’s official sponsors. If a company is not one of FIFA’s partners, its name and advertisements at the stadium are covered up or temporarily replaced during the championship. This isn’t a punishment for refusing to sign a contract; it’s a way to prevent brands from getting free advertising at the tournament’s expense.
The same practice had been used before. For the duration of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Allianz Arena in Munich was referred to by the neutral name “FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich.” Advertising for non-official partners was also removed from the stadium. Allianz Arena itself described it as a name change for the World Cup.
During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, FNB Stadium, named after First National Bank, was known as Soccer City. After the championship, a bank spokesperson said that FNB had agreed to change the stadium’s name and logo for the period covered by FIFA’s requirements..
This practice was also followed at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Otkritie Arena in Moscow, named after its partner bank, was referred to as Spartak Stadium during the tournament. The stadium is now called “Lukoil Arena.”
The debranding process became particularly noticeable in 2026 because many stadiums in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have commercial names. Naming rights are sold more frequently there than in many other countries..
Some brands used this as a standalone marketing opportunity. For instance, Levi’s hinted on social media that people would still recognise the stadium from the outline of the Levi’s logo, even if the company’s name was covered. The marketing director of Lumen Technologies in Seattle helped the staff cover up his company’s logo at the stadium and recorded the process on video.
During the same broadcast, Artsiom Anikin made another false claim about FIFA’s earnings from water breaks. The WTF team debunked that claim as well.
