Bay Area Host Committee president has message for naysayers as World Cup nears
OAKLAND - Zaileen Janmohamed has heard the skepticism regarding the upcoming World Cup matches at Levi's Stadium: They lack star power, the tickets cost too much, and getting in and out of there is a pain in the you-know-what.
To which the Bay Area Host Committee's president and CEO responds: Be patient.
"Until the games actually start on the pitch, people want something to talk about, and there’s going to be discussion about all of those things," Janmohamed said this week. "I think the conversation likely will change (when games begin)."
The 2026 World Cup opened its 104-match, month-plus schedule across North America with Mexico hosting South Africa on Thursday in Mexico City. The six-game slate in Santa Clara begins Saturday at noon with Qatar facing Switzerland, followed by other group stage matches featuring Austria, Jordan, Turkey, Paraguay, Algeria and Australia. Levi's will also be home to a Round of 32 match.
Four of those teams are in the top 30 of FIFA's rankings, but none are above No. 19.
They may not be marquee matches or teams that would generate widespread interest across the region, and they're likely not the ones that most interested the BAHC, which didn't have a say in which teams were selected to play here.
What the BAHC and Janmohamed can control is ensuring the stadium is ready, that a mobility plan is in place at Levi's and the surrounding area, and that fans without tickets still have several places to enjoy games in a group setting.
"So all of those things I feel so good about," Janmohamed said. "The stadium is ready, (seating) bowl's ready, field looks great."
As of Wednesday morning, prices for remaining tickets for the Qatar-Switzerland match on various resale sites started at just over $300, with the cheapest ticket to next Tuesday's Austria-Jordan costing just over $200. Those are bargain prices compared to what's available in other host cities, and cheaper than what they were just a couple of months ago.
Still, last month, during negotiations with FIFA, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani secured 1,000 $50 tickets for various matches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Those tickets, per The Athletic, were originally purchased by the joint host committee of New York and New Jersey, then with FIFA's blessing, resold to local residents.
Bay Area residents didn't get quite the same break, but Janmohamed said BAHC had its own "inclusivity strategy," adding that the committee provided free tickets to various youth soccer and community partners, including Eat.Learn.Play., a child activity-focused nonprofit cofounded by Steph and Ayesha Curry, the Warriors' supercouple.
"We have a lot of community organizations that we wanted to deliver free tickets to, which we’ve done," Janmohamed said. "It’s about access for us. We want to make sure that people have the ability to take it in."
As was the case when the 2025 NBA All-Star Game came to San Francisco and Santa Clara hosted Super Bowl LX in February, the BAHC had to make commitments to FIFA that it had the infrastructure - with the necessary security, transportation, lodging and a suitable stadium - to host World Cup games.
Janmohamed said those needs require an investment by the BAHC, whose private fundraising model - involving sponsor corporations - allows the committee "to do both what you see with our legacy initiatives, but also just deliver a great event." Janmohamed would not say how much those investments are.
One of those legacy initiatives was assisting in the completion of a new synthetic-turf soccer field at LIFE Academy and United for Success Academy in Oakland. Video game company EA Sports, which partners with schools and local organizations to revitalize community pitches through its "FC Futures" program, was involved in the ceremony.
The ribbon-cutting for the new field, intended for students at the school and soccer teams in the community, was held Tuesday.
"It's a wonderful moment for us, and it’s a true tribute to this community," said Andrea Hopelain, general manager and senior vice president of publishing at EA Sports, one of several corporate sponsors for the host committee. "For us to be able to translate what we do in interactive play to creating homes and places for youth to learn the game and celebrate the game, it’s really important for us."
The Paraguayan and Australian teams have already set up their World Cup home bases in the Bay Area, and Janmohamed said that over 100 official watch parties are planned for the duration of the tournament. Now, for the BAHC, it's just a matter of hosting the upcoming World Cup games and hoping everything goes as planned.
"It’s almost like a wedding," she said. “You’re doing all of these things to make sure that people have a really good time, and it’s operationally sound, but you don’t really know how it’s all going to come together until you get through it.
"So, if anything keeps me up at night, it’s mostly just, are all the puzzle pieces in the right place, and they all fit together, and what will it look like when we actually see it? But I feel really good. Our team has now got a few reps behind us, so I’m hoping that all of those things that we’ve done in the past, the events that we’ve already hosted, allow us to have a really great tournament coming up."
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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 6:20 AM.