Non-Sponsor Logos Covered at World Cup Venues in San Francisco

Staff covered the Levi's logo outside Levi's Stadium in San Francisco with a white tarpaulin and taped over Heinz logos on ketchup bottles inside the press box. Germany's Jamal Musiala was photographed before a match with masking tape over the Beats logo on his headphones. Levi's, Heinz and Beats hold no official FIFA sponsorship agreements.

Official partners pay up to tens of millions of pounds for exclusive rights that include stadium naming, control over player and fan attire, and protection of tournament language and typeface. FIFA has enforced similar rules since 1994 to prevent ambush marketing. In 2006, Netherlands fans were required to remove Bavaria-branded trousers before entering a stadium.

In 2010, South African airline Kulula withdrew an unofficial-carrier campaign. In 2014, Beats products were banned from venues while Sony held official status. Heinz released a limited-edition bottle featuring the taped design.

" and used it to promote an unreleased headphone model. Levi's shared one image of the covered stadium logo that drew hundreds of thousands of interactions and a TikTok video that reached nine million views. The company later applied the tarp design to stores in London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, Brazil and Mexico.

FIFA can rename stadiums and restrict visible branding to safeguard paid sponsors. The current coverings follow that policy at the 2026 tournament.