The Athletic has live coverage of Portugal vs Uzbekistan at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
It has become a running joke of the tournament.
FIFA required a mass clean-up operation of host stadiums for this World Cup, ensuring that everything from concession stands to airspace be cleared of the sponsors who are usually in place at NFL venues.
The ‘clean stadium’ demand includes wiping the title sponsor physically from the venue’s exterior (which has cost some cities almost $500,000) and stadium sponsors from every room and concourse in the venue, as well as any temporary or permanent parking facilities. Only Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta got an exemption, owing to the sheer physical challenge of covering the sign.
FIFA’s control is extensive, according to the city contracts seen by The Athletic. Cities are even asked to ensure the FIFA names for the venues are used for all local directional signage from at least 14 days before the opening match, while the usual stadium name is not to be used in governmental communications.
The sponsored stadium names have been replaced with new FIFA-approved host city names, even when those cities are geographically far away from the actual stadium locations. MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, for example, is temporarily called New York New Jersey Stadium, despite very much not being in New York; Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, is now called Boston Stadium, despite being around 30 miles away; and the re-named AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is now called Dallas Stadium.
Host cities, many of whom already feel burned by the scale of costs associated with preparing for the World Cup, have taken a very literal interpretation of the contractual obligations. They have been prepared to cover up sponsors across their venues but many have not been prepared to pay for the dressing of their new names. With FIFA also not stumping up to replace the names, it has left the signs resembling a confusing or sometimes entertaining eyesore for fans approaching venues.
This has, in many cases, led to some clumsy looking solutions at venues across North America. In the case of Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, it has even extended to the erasing of the likeness of one of the nation’s most iconic former presidents.
Over at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, a giant white tarp now covers up the denim brand, who poked fun at the change by adjusting their logo on social media platforms to resemble the half-baked solution.
Here, The Athletic looks at each World Cup venue and the steps they have taken to cover up their sponsors.
Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
The most pristine presentation has arguably come from Mexico City, which replaced Estadio Banorte with the official FIFA name of Estadio Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City Stadium). This scrubbed away the financial services firm Banorte, while playing ball with FIFA’s request.
(Yuri CORTEZ / AFP via Getty Images)
The venue’s preparedness to go the extra mile may simply be out of a desire to look good. But it is possible that FIFA agreed additional expectations for the stadium in return for awarding the venue, most famously known as the Azteca Stadium, the opening match of the tournament in which Mexico beat South Korea.
Cover-up rating: 9/10.
The Azteca wears its World Cup branding on May 28. (Photo by Carl DE SOUZA / AFP via Getty Images)
MetLife Stadium, New York, New Jersey
This one has had plenty of attention, most notably because of a dispute over whether New York’s name should even be on the stadium altogether. However, New York City and New Jersey jointly agreed to bid to host the tournament back in 2017 and the name has been tied together for the World Cup since.
In recent months, as New York and New Jersey’s politicians vied for headlines and political wins from the World Cup, New Jersey governor Mikie Sherrill’s office requested that one of the two most prominent signs outside the stadium to be changed from New York New Jersey to New Jersey New York. Inside the venue, the sponsored signs have been exclusively covered up with ‘New York New Jersey’.
(Catherine Ivill / AMA / Getty Images)
One exemption is the cupholders — there is a MetLife sign on every single one across the 80,000-seater stadium. In the end, local organizers pushed back on FIFA, explaining the cost of covering up every individual seat in a unionized building would be beyond reasonable, particularly when FIFA do not have an insurance partner on their slate of sponsors.
(CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
From the inside of MetLife Stadium, we could spy the back of the MetLife letters. Technically, it is not only the exterior but also interior which is expected to be covered up.
(The Athletic/Melanie Anzidei)
Cover-up rating: 7/10
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
The letters in GEHA Field were snapped being physically removed in the week leading up to the World Cup, and FIFA signs have now taken precedence.
Workers are removing or covering hundreds of signs throughout the stadium, including major sponsorships, as FIFA’s sponsors take priority over not only GEHA, but the advertisements for T Mobile, Bud Light, Ford and the Chiefs.
Cover-up rating: 8/10
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
(Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
(Jay Biggerstaff/Getty Images)
(William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Lumen Field, Seattle
Seattle’s cover-up of Lumen appears to have involved some variation of tape, paint or rubber. In an image taken on May 31, they appeared to have forgotten to address the final letter N but they have now completed the clean-up. The sign at the front of the stadium remained a little underwhelming, with the word Lumen blacked out but no replacement filled in.
May 6. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
May 31. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Ryan Asdourian, a marketing and strategy officer for Lumen Technologies, decided to have some fun with the clean-up operation, taking a film crew along to the venue and a hard hat, setting out to cover up as many signs as possible. “That’s a pretty big sign,” he says, pointing to one particularly prominent logo, while pointing out 46 more to cover up. “Someone’s gonna have to get up there and get that one.”
Seattle is rolling out the welcome mat for this summer’s international competition! Just don’t ask us what the stadium is called right now 🫶 pic.twitter.com/xeHIIm02HS
— Lumen (@lumentechco) June 9, 2026
Cover-up rating: 6/10
Seattle’s World Cup stadium was just a… field by May 27. (Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
The Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta got an exemption, because it was concluded it was impossible to cover up the sponsored star without risking damage to the complex, leaving FIFA with no choice but to relent and allow the venue a pass on the regulation. The venue did put up plenty of FIFA signage across the exterior of the venue, however.
Cover-up Rating: N/A
(Alex Slitz – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
(Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles
Not the easiest one to cover up at SoFi Stadium, with a logo on the roof that has been whited out, as well as boarding up a sign outside the stadium. Pretty neatly done overall, with one sign under the rim of the roof rather resembling a big mat borrowed from the local gym.
Cover-up rating: 8/10
Work begins on June 12. (Scott Strazzante / Getty Images)
The sponsor on the roof was blocked out by May 27. (Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)
Estadio BBVA, Monterrey
The BBVA stadium in Monterrey, set against a stunning backdrop in north-east Mexico, removed the brackets which form its usual name. Our helpful photo editors searched high and low for a second photograph without an armed guard, I promise, to no avail.
Cover up rating: 8/10
March 22. (Julio Cesar AGUILAR / AFP via Getty Images)
(Li Muzi/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Estadio Akron, Guadalajara
A picture-perfect transformation from Guadalajara, disposing of energy firm Akron and replacing it with a lovely white and pink sign saying Estadio Guadalajara.
We spoke to Ainara Zataran Ripoll, director of stadium operations for Chivas, who play their club matches at Akron.
Did FIFA make the new sign? “No, actually that was the club (Chivas). So when FIFA told me you cannot have the Estadio Akron sign, because they are in competition with Aramco (one of FIFA’s sponsors), that we had to change it, they had wanted to cover it and put a billboard over it.
“But I was like, ‘No, that’s going to look ugly.’ So I started thinking that I wanted the man entrance of the stadium to look pretty because it’s the first thing that fans are going to see. So Chivas thought about putting up the sign which says Guadalajara, it was an idea we came up with together.
“We’ll change it back after because Akron are our biggest sponsors, but we thought that fans in the stadium deserved to think they were coming to a World Cup stadium, to make it big and beautiful.”
Take the temporary sign home and put it in your garden? “Maybe, but I’m worried it won’t fit.”
Cover-up rating: 10/10
(Simon Barber/Getty Images)
(Jacob Whitehead/The Athletic)
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
A little bit of a patchwork job at Hard Rock Stadium, where the main brand logo was covered up by a FIFA World Cup sign, but the kicking ‘k’ of Hard Rock remains visible from some angles.
Cover up rating: 6/10
(Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The ‘k’ of ‘Hard Rock’ is just about visible on May 22. (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images)
Gillette Stadium, Boston
The Gillette Stadium in Foxboro went for the white tarp, covering up two signs on the roof of the exterior, giving a rather budget appearance, but this venue did go the extra mile indoors, whiting over the word Gillette for every single seat inside the stadium. While FIFA do not have an official grooming partner, they do have a partnership with Unilever, which houses several brands within the category and therefore would require the venue to be clean of Gillette mentions.
Cover-up rating: 7/10
(Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
(Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
AT&T Stadium, Dallas
Jerry Jones’ stadium in Arlington, Texas, has its brand name emblazoned across the roof of the venue but also above the entrance.
At the entrance, it was covered up by another white tarp job but it’s not clear if the roof sponsors have now been covered. The Athletic has asked if the work is complete.
Cover up rating: 6/10
The AT&T Stadium on March 21. (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
And on May 26… (Omar Vega/Getty Images)
And the non-FIFA branding was covered up by the time the tournament started. (Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Levi’s Stadium, San Francisco Bay Area
The iconic denim brand Levi’s was founded in the Bay Area and is the naming rights partner of the 49ers stadium in Santa Clara. This solution is a clunky eyesore; resembling a cushion, gym mat and tarp meshed into one. The sign above the scoreboard inside the stadium looked like it had been covered up by a pillow.
The local host committee did not see fit to replace the Levi’s sign with the new stadium name — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, possibly because it required too many characters to do so.
(Don Juan Moore/Getty Images)
Levi’s had some fun; ensuring their brand snagged some brand recognition during this World Cup by playfully adjusting its logo on Instagram to match the temporary FIFA solution.
FIFA’s rules forced the Levi’s logo at Levi’s Stadium to be covered because Levi’s isn’t a World Cup sponsor. Levi’s embraced it, changed its logo to match the covered sign, and turned the whole thing into a PR 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/6HAjvq5kBl
— 𝔸𝕝 𝕍𝕒𝕣𝕠 𝕏 (@al_varo777) June 20, 2026
Cover-up rating: 5/10
NRG Stadium, Houston
The home of the Houston Texans NFL side has been stripped of its sponsors and its team (and rodeo) signage. Known as NRG Stadium up until the World Cup, it has been rebranded Houston Stadium under FIFA rules, with no prominent new signs added, and is due to revert to its old name, Reliant Stadium, afterward.
Cover-up rating: 5/10
December 23. (Kirby Lee/Getty Images)
May 19. (Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images)
Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Perhaps the scandal here is that FIFA’s clean stadium requirements even extend to placing a cover over the branded likeness of Abraham Lincoln, whose face accompanies the Lincoln Financial logo.
This now has a blue FIFA World Cup 2026 sign all the way across, covering up the face of the 16th U.S. president.
Cover up rating: 6/10
May 6. (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
May 13. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
BC Place, Vancouver
This is the one venue at the World Cup which has no naming rights partner, meaning Vancouver was not required to scrub a name from its venue. However, BC Place (British Columbia Place) has had its name adapted by FIFA to now be BC Place Vancouver, to make clear to the world that the stadium is in Vancouver.
Cover-up rating: N/A
(Andrew Chin/Getty Images)
BMO Field, Toronto
Pretty simple one in Toronto, as investment banking firm BMO was erased by being whited out and no replacement was added to reflect the new name of Toronto Stadium.
Cover-up rating: 5/10
(Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)
June 11. (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)