World Cup 2026 - what we’re hearing: McDonald’s opts out of selling food and drink at official Fan Fests

Fast-food giant McDonald’s has declined to take up its option to provide food and beverages at FIFA Fan Fests across North America this summer during the World Cup.

McDonald’s has a long-standing partnership with soccer’s world governing body to sponsor its flagship tournaments, including this summer’s men’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The agreement includes access to LED advertising within venues and naming rights to the Fair Play Trophy (presented to the team with the best fair play record during the tournament), while McDonald’s is the “official restaurant sponsor” of this year’s World Cup.

McDonald’s also had an option to take up a right of first negotiation, as well as last refusal, to sell its products at FIFA Fan Fests this summer. McDonald’s had considered selling a limited menu, including ice creams, at fan festivals, but it has now taken the decision that it will not do so. Its branding will remain visible on the main stage of Fan Fests, and host cities will not be permitted to permit vendors who are considered to be a rival of McDonald’s, which may open opportunities for local businesses.

The Athletic has been told by two people familiar with the situation, who asked to remain anonymous when discussing confidential commercial matters, that McDonald’s was concerned about the potential return on investment in some markets amid uncertainty over the scale of events, the number of days they will be active and the anticipated footfall.

McDonald’s denied this was the reasoning, telling The Athletic in a statement that the company is “focusing our efforts where we can make the biggest impacts — in the communities we serve, including across the 16 host cities.” It insisted McDonald’s is “all-in” on being a sponsor of the tournament.

Many host cities have already confirmed their plans for Fan Fests. Kansas City is hosting a 25,000-capacity event at the National WW1 Museum and Memorial, with two large stages and almost 4,500 square feet of video boards, which will allow guests to enjoy matches and live entertainment performances. The event will run on the six days Kansas City will host games during the World Cup, as well as on the days where the U.S. Men’s National Team are competing, and for other select game days which have crossover appeal. New York City and New Jersey have also announced events across 39 days at Liberty State Park, and 11 days at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, the home of the U.S. Open.

However, other locations have either scaled back their plans significantly or those plans remain uncertain. The Athletic revealed in December that the host committee in the San Francisco Bay Area is considering a significantly reduced approach to official fan festivals in the region after being allocated a group-stage draw that is short of leading nations or highly marketable star names.

FIFA’s initial ask, as per a version of the contract with Seattle, was that every host city would provide a Fan Fest free of charge to spectators for every day of the competition, yet this has been scaled back in many cities. Seattle and Boston are also considering potentially reducing their engagements.

In March 2025, Seattle put out RFIs for a “free community event” of up to 24 days to take place at Seattle Community Center, but the cost of hosting the event, as well as the challenges of securing sponsorship which do not conflict with FIFA partners, means it too is looking at a scaled-back activation. It has previously announced that a fan celebration will be held at Seattle Center, an entertainment and performing arts venue, but is yet to confirm the number of days the event will be active.

Boston, meanwhile, has not yet provided information about its chosen site for a Fan Fest or the number of days on which it will be provided. A World Cup Readiness report from the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, first reported on by CBS Boston, acknowledged recently that it was an unknown factor, which means the city risked being behind on planning, coordination and preparation.

The Boston host committee president Mike Loynd said in December that the intention was to “surely” announce by the end of January, but the size of the state investment into the project remains undetermined. The plans have still not been confirmed, despite original host city agreements stating that host cities should have provided two locations for FIFA’s consideration by May 31, 2023.

Another Trump-related engagement for Infantino

Last weekend brought the premiere at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center of a new documentary, released by Amazon MGM Studios, about First Lady Melania Trump.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino made one of the most memorable recent appearances at the Kennedy Center, when he hailed President Trump and awarded him FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize at the World Cup draw in December.

Infantino has made more public appearances in the Oval Office than any world political leader since Trump returned to power, and the FIFA president’s proximity to the Trump White House came into focus once more last weekend when he was among a slew of celebrity guests at the Melania premiere. These included former New York City Mayor Eric Adams, hip-hop musician Waka Flocka Flame and Jordan Belfort, the previously imprisoned financial criminal on whom ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’ was based. A number of senior Cabinet secretaries, as well as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, also attended.

FIFA did not respond when asked whether Infantino attended as a representative of FIFA or in a private capacity.

Cities stunned by surprise cost of hospitality suites

Host cities for the World Cup in 2026 have raised concerns with FIFA and its hospitality partners On Location after being stunned by the proposed per-person cost for guests attending their hospitality suites during the tournament.

As part of the original agreements made between FIFA and host cities, the host city committees negotiated access to a varying number of suites within the venues. However, these agreements did not, at the time, include provisions for food and beverages. On Location is the exclusive official partner of FIFA for hospitality during the tournament, with the company having provided similar services for the Super Bowl and the Olympic Games.

Recently, On Location presented the proposed costs for services within the suites to host cities, with people at host cities familiar with the details claiming that they were told that it may cost them as much as $1,000 per person, per game.

As such, if a suite holds 20 people and a venue hosts eight games, then a host city needs to find an additional $160,000 — or multiples of that number, in the event they negotiated several suites across the venue during the tournament, as many host cities did. This leaves cities potentially facing payments in excess of $500,000, or more, depending on how many suites they negotiated.

Host cities are already stumping up huge sums of cash to enable FIFA to host the tournament. According to host city agreements seen by The Athletic, a host city’s overall responsibility for costs “comprises the safety, security and protection, including all related safety and security measures, for all individuals and entities attending, or being involved in the organisation of, the competition.”

The cities have been helped by a $625million commitment from President Trump’s administration in federal funding, but many have required tens of millions of dollars in additional state and city taxpayer dollars, as well as private donations or support.

The latest money ask for food and beverage in the suites has taken multiple host city executives by surprise, with three sources saying the numbers are double what would normally be charged for events such as NFL or concerts at the same venues.

Sources familiar with the situation told The Athletic that the discrepancy in cost between FIFA’s pricing per person for services in the suites and the usual costs for other events is due to a directive from FIFA to provide the most premium options available, with the initial offering made to host cities not including tiered options, which would bring down the cost.

Sources close to On Location insist that it, as the agency, is not gaining any revenues from the program and say they have provided charges at cost, which also include cleaning, decorations and security, at cost. It also insists the charges are below $1,000, but admit that they are now working towards lowering the costs further, following the concerns raised by host committees.

FIFA and On Location declined to formally comment.

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