Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) – along with chambers of commerce, business organizations, local government representatives and parks and recreation staff in a group known as “The Huddle” – is preparing to support local businesses as the FIFA World Cup comes to Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara in 2026.
The final draw Friday revealed the group-stage matches for the 48-team tournament, hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
During a live drawing telecast at San Francisco’s Chase Center, stakeholders, Bay Area destination representatives, sponsors and others learned that Qatar and Switzerland will be the first of the featured teams to participate in six matches at Levi’s Stadium in June and early July 2026.
Other teams set to play in Santa Clara are Austria, Jordan, Paraguay, Algeria, Australia and one from among a playoff group of Kosovo, Romania, Slovakia and Turkey. That’s in addition to a knockout-round match on July 1.
With Santa Cruz County just 35 miles from the soccer venue, VSCC aims to boost local tourism amid the influx of visitors to the Bay Area to boost tourism. VSCC has developed a “Kickoff Santa Cruz” logo and tagline for businesses and organizations to use for merchandise and promotions.
Details about the playoff schedule, hotel accommodations, dining and activities are available on the Kickoff Santa Cruz website, produced by VSCC.
In a media release, VSCC CEO Terence Concannon said that the goal is to highlight the broader community’s role in delivering unforgettable fan experiences across the region and to grow the regional impact of worldwide soccer in 2026 collaboratively.
Local businesses and organizations can submit their event and activation information and access the “Kickoff Santa Cruz” logos by contacting VSCC.
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