FIFA will change name of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for 2026 World Cup

Pete Grathoff, Blair Kerkhoff
·2 min read

When FIFA announced earlier this month that six games in the 2026 World Cup would be played at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, international soccer’s governing body left out some details.

Namely, the name of the stadium.

“Impressive Kansas City Stadium will stage a total of six matches from the biggest-ever World Cup, including one quarter-final,” FIFA wrote on its website. “Kansas City Stadium will host six matches from the FIFA World Cup 26, including four group fixtures and two knockout games.”

Kansas City Stadium?

Fans should prepare to hear Arrowhead Stadium given that moniker. FIFA is referring to all stadiums during the World Cup by the host city, which means the Dallas Cowboys’ AT&T Stadium will be “Dallas Stadium.”

The Chiefs, who said renovations have started on Arrowhead Stadium ahead of the 2026 World Cup, said they knew FIFA would change the name during the global tournament.

“Those are their rules and we respect FIFA,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said “But the reality is everybody coming here knows it’s Arrowhead. Do we need to do a lot of brand-building around Arrowhead? No.

“In broadcasts, all your print materials and schedules, everything else you’re going to say Kansas City (Stadium). When fans show up, they’re going to know it’s Arrowhead.”

So why the change? FIFA is keenly aware that its six main sponsors (or “partners”) are paying a princely sum to advertise during the World Cup. The world’s governing soccer body assures those sponsors have “brand protection” from “ambush marketing.”

This is from FIFA’s website: “Ambush marketing activities typically occur when a brand tries to link itself to a major event, be it through advertising or promotions using tournament designations or giving away/raffling off tickets, or by implementing a creative campaign that only indirectly associates with the tournament using imagery or textual references that aim to create a link to the event. Marketing activities by non-sponsor companies that seek to take advantage of the huge public interest in the event through physical on-site presence in or around event sites (e.g. stadiums) qualify as ambush marketing.”

The Chiefs in 2021 sold naming rights for Arrowhead Stadium to GEHA. But you won’t see or hear GEHA mentioned during the World Cup broadcasts.

The Houston Chronicle said “FIFA’s rules require stadium signs to be covered and not referred to during game broadcasts unless those companies strike separate agreements with the governing body.”

The Chiefs are not sure if they’ll have to cover the words “Arrowhead Stadium” during the World Cup. That’s not linked to a sponsorship deal, and FIFA refers to Mexico City’s stadium as Estadio Azteca.

But for now, FIFA is calling it Kansas City Stadium, and that’s likely how it’ll be known when the first World Cup game is played at Arrowhead Stadium on June 18, 2026.