2026 World Cup’s Bay Area Matches Kick Off, But It’s No Super Bowl

For the first time in decades, people from around the world are supposed to be making their way to the Bay Area for one of the largest sporting events on the planet. But some fans are wondering where everyone is.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup’s Bay Area debut at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium in Santa Clara — rebranded from the Levi’s Stadium name for now — did bring some fans to the city for a Saturday afternoon game.

Coming with them? Plenty of empty seats, and criticism of the federal government, FIFA and high ticket prices.

Suhail Virana, who was rooting for Qatar, said outside the stadium that it was exciting to have the World Cup in the Bay Area, but some things fell short in comparison to previous World Cups.

“It’s not as nice; there’s too many problems,” Virana said. “This is a whole bunch of chaos here. Football is about unity. There’s been a lot of division.”

Trump administration policies, high ticket costs and a less than expected show of excitement have hung over the event since before it even started. Several participants have been detained or denied entry into the U.S., including a Somali referee, Iraq’s team photographer, and several members of Iran’s team.

The tournament itself is the largest it’s ever been, double in size since the US hosted back in 1994. The US, a co-host this year with Mexico and Canada, is holding most of the competition, and six of the matches will take place in Santa Clara.

For the Bay Area, it’s supposed to be a big economic driver. The Bay Area Host Committee estimated back in 2024 that the region would rake in up to $630 million, with half of that going to Santa Clara County.

But days before the Bay Area’s opening match, hotel bookings were lower than expected, and during the game there were patches of empty seats.

Mike Borghetti, who was outside the stadium, said the match didn’t look like a Super Bowl.

“Super Bowl? This place is packed. People are barbecuing, just having fun,” Borghetti said. “But now it seems, I don’t know, people are not trusting the world right now.”

Unlike at 49ers games at the stadium, tailgating is not allowed at World Cup games, so the parking lot was bare in comparison.

Rodolfo Mora, a Switzerland fan for the day, had a different take on the event.

“I traveled just for the World Cup. It’s just a dream come true,” said Mora, who lives in Mexico City.

Some of the empty spots in the stadium could be due to the high ticket prices fans were facing. FIFA’s ticket prices reached record highs amid what FIFA President Gianni Infantino said was “unprecedented demand.”

Dennis Cruz, a Santa Clara resident who came out in support of Switzerland, said he didn’t think the two teams warranted the high prices.

“$350? I feel like it’s a little too much,” Cruz said.

FIFA said Friday that it doesn’t calculate attendance numbers by visual assessment, but by “the number of tickets scanned and spectators present within the stadium footprint.”

SFGATE reported that hundreds of fans actually took cover in the concourse from the heat in the area, which the National Weather Service had issued an advisory for.

Outside the stadium, some protestors took issue with more than ticket prices. Ahead of the game, they joined together in the streets nearby to protest the US’s role as a host and called for people to boycott the games. They say the country’s policies, including on immigration, should not be rewarded.

“We need to draw the line somewhere,” said Bernice Onuoha at the Black Alliance for Peace-hosted protest near the stadium. “It’s not right for these games to be held while ICE is actively torturing and starving people in captivity with undue process, while we are bombing Iran, helping a genocide in Palestine, which has spread to Lebanon.”

Virana, the Qatar fan, said he mostly agreed with protestors.

“I believe Palestine is being occupied. I do think them using the game to bring attention to it is very good,” Virana said.

Still, Cruz and Virana said they still planned on going to other games.

“Just for the experience,” Virana said.

Santa Clara will next host Austria and Jordan on Tuesday, followed by Türkiye and Paraguay on Friday.

KQED’s Christopher Alam contributed to this report.