FIFA strips stadium branding to protect World Cup sponsors

FIFA has ordered World Cup venues to remove or cover the logos and names of companies that are not official tournament sponsors, under its “clean stadium” policy. The restrictions apply for the full 39 days of the competition, and have led to venue renamings such as MetLife Stadium becoming “New York/New Jersey Stadium” until July 19, and Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara being referred to as “San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,” even though it is dozens of kilometers from San Francisco.

Reports from the venues also say FIFA went beyond stadium names. In press areas, brand names on products such as ketchup and mayonnaise were covered, and social media users shared photos from Boston showing stickers placed over Gillette logos on seats and other items. One post noted that the stadium’s 64,146 seats would each have required small pieces of tape to hide every logo. Credit card terminals that normally carry the Gillette logo were also replaced on match days.

FIFA’s contracts with stadiums reportedly state that there can be no advertising, marketing, promotions, merchandise sales, signs, or any other commercial identification in stands, on scoreboards, seats, timing clocks, staff uniforms, tickets, fences, or anywhere inside, around, or above the stadium, unless FIFA has installed or approved it in writing. The organization’s sponsors include Adidas, Coca-Cola, Visa, Lenovo and Qatar Airways, each of which is said to pay between $150 million and $200 million.

There are exceptions. In Atlanta, the Mercedes-Benz logo on the retractable roof had to remain because removing it would damage the roof. The New York Times also reported that at MetLife Stadium, cup holders attached to seats could not be covered, apparently because doing so would have been too expensive. MetLife’s 2011 sponsorship deal is worth about $20 million a year.