Why you can't call it a World Cup party

When Imelda Padilla found out that Sheldon Arleta Park in her Valley council district was one of 18 Los Angeles city parks that would be hosting World Cup watch parties, she was excited to get the word out to her constituents. "We made our flyers. We posted it, people liked it," the councilmember said at the most recent ad hoc committee meeting. "And then it turns out you can't mention the word 'FIFA' or the word 'World Cup.'"

Padilla — who, like all councilmembers, is paying for the watch parties with her own discretionary funds — said she was "really upset" that her team had to remove the flyers from Instagram and rebrand the event as a generic "Sun Valley fan zone." As she told the story, other councilmembers acknowledged they had run into the same challenges, with Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson joking that the regulations were so restrictive that they could only describe the events as a "fan zone... about sports." LA's megaevent czar Paul Krekorian tried valiantly to explain the city's affiliation with the World Cup, the difference between LA and LA's host committee, and how FIFA's various events are structured. But if LA councilmembers don't know how this works, how can all the other LA County cities, bars and restaurants, and many other venues hosting watch parties be expected to know? Torched is here to help!

The guidelines are actually pretty simple, and they're all in the LA World Cup host committee's community activation toolkit that I've shared several times here at Torched. (Again, LA officials, I just want to say: subscribing to Torched can save you time and money!) Here's what it says: "You can’t use official FIFA logos or branding unless you’re an official partner or rights holder. Do not create any lockups with the Host City logo or the official FIFA logo." You also can't put "FIFA" or "World Cup" on your flyer and you can only include the words in an editorial sense, like an event description or caption: "Join us for food and drink specials on June 12th to celebrate the first U.S. Men's Match of FIFA World Cup 26™." Although please note the fine-fine print: "Single-branded sports retail stores; breweries; restaurants; and airports MAY NOT use 'FIFA World Cup 26™.'"

If you think your organization might be affiliated with FIFA, you're probably not. The only events that are FIFA-sanctioned are the fan festival at the Coliseum and the 10 fan zones all over LA County: Farmers Market, Downey, Union Station, Hansen Dam, Magic Johnson Park, Whittier Narrows, Venice Beach, Fairplex, West Harbor, Downtown Burbank. And even though some of the fan zones are happening at LA city parks, those are different than the 100 Kick it in the Park watch parties being held at 18 LA city parks, which are not FIFA-sanctioned. Got it? There will also be hundreds more not-FIFA events at libraries and cultural centers and museums. And then all the hospitality houses. Plus all the branded activations. And a bunch of open streets!

Most of these events — sanctioned and unsanctioned — will eventually be included, I am told, in the Discover LA calendar, which is FIFA-branded, because Discover LA is a partner. So is our public transit system, because Metro is a partner, as are Amgen, Kaiser Permanente, and Archer, the air taxi company that's also an LA28 sponsor, and which, believe it or not, will not actually be flying anyone anywhere in LA this summer, despite its claims to investors. Beyond those five brands, and the brands of FIFA's sponsors and partners, like Coca-Cola and Adidas, you should not see the World Cup mentioned anywhere else. This is also why SoFi covered up the logos on its stadium, although not very well.

There's a whole webinar for LA County businesses being put on by LASEC on June 3 where I'm sure you'll learn a lot more than what I just told you. (I didn't even get into FIFA's public viewing rules, which basically require all events where a match will be watched by over 1,000 people to be reviewed by FIFA for approval.) But you should really come to my event on June 5: What's happening with LA's World Cup? where I'll share how I plan to sift through the deluge of activities, official or not. Don't worry, it's just 39 days. Until, of course, we go through this all again for LA28. 🔥

Kick it with us

"The World Cup in every neighborhood," is how LA Mayor Karen Bass described Kick it in the Park's watch parties — three per day for 39 days! — at the launch event at Koreatown's Liberty Park on Tuesday. The LA Local's Hanna Kang has more details from organizers on the three Koreatown events, including plans for separate areas for seniors, which is something I'd love to see at more large events. I was a bit surprised that the launch wasn't actually held in an LA city park; Liberty Park, despite its name, is a private space owned by Jamison Properties, the landlord — some would say slumlord — of much of Koreatown. (Maybe the city didn't want to draw any more attention to those plummeting park scores.) Still, I was perplexed at the lack of upkeep, even for a private space — the grass was crispy for May, the planters were empty, trash blew across the plaza as officials were speaking. I'm already worried about keeping our parks clean — I know, volunteers — but surely Jamison has the resources to make sure this space gets a little love before June 11? 🦋

ICE agents are not part of the security plans at SoFi, LA World Cup host committee chair Kathryn Schloessman told ABC7, saying she misspoke when she previously said ICE would be at SoFi. But DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin — who also said he's going to shut down airports in sanctuary cities including LA? — said ICE will "be out there every day" at World Cup matches. And Bass said this week ICE would be at SoFi but not the city's watch parties. So which one is it? I think I'll trust the SoFi workers who have threatened to strike if not protected from ICE and who once again rallied at LA's host committee offices this week. (LAPD comically put out an advisory for a few dozen people on the sidewalk.) Their strike authorization vote will be held next week, on June 4 and 5, just one week before the first U.S. match is played on June 12. 🦋

LA will rename a six-block stretch of 39th Street in honor of the Paralympics, the same way 10th Street was renamed to commemorate the 1932 Olympics. Councilmember Heather Hutt amended the motion to read "Paralympic Way" which is much, much better than "Paralympic Street." Public commenters questioned if the street in question was, in fact, ADA accessible — something LA has had, um, quite a bit of trouble with — and yep, this exact part of 39th Street is in line for some improvements that I can see on my trusty Games CIP map. Let's hope the city comes up with more concrete ways to honor disabled athletes, like a commitment to fixing sidewalks and installing curb ramps — as megaevent czar Krekorian said last week, an accessibility plan is coming. The vote was notable as it occurred the same day LA28 finally released the Paralympics schedule: August 15 to August 27, 2028. Tickets go on sale next year. 🦋

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What Torched subscribers are reading

• This is our reality in 2026. There are three different safety guides for journalists covering the World Cup: Committee to Protect Journalists, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker, Freedom of the Press
• Libby Rainey checks in with LA's Iranian diaspora, the largest population of Iranians outside Iran, for LAist
• Will LA taxpayers be on the hook for the World Cup? Martín Macías is trying to find out
• Our Copa is a podcast from Working Families Power and Mijente Support Committee that's "meeting fans where they already are — in stadiums, at watch parties, on social media, in local parks — and making sure this World Cup belongs to the people who make the game beautiful"
• "What it's like to walk in California's most walkable city," which just happens to be completely surrounded by the much less walkable city of Los Angeles
• Can delivery robots deliver better sidewalks? asks Maylin Tu
• This very good explainer from Investing in Place on how the city's Capital Infrastructure Program is shuffling through charter reform hearings — and what happens next
• The Athletic goes deep on the legal battles between SoFi's Stan Kroenke and Inglewood forever-mayor James Butts, which I wrote a little about two weeks ago
• Politico's Liam Dillon reports on a ruling that moves the Venice Dell affordable housing project forward, despite Councilmember Traci Park's actions to disingenuously convert the site into a "mobility hub" for 2028
• "Without intervention, the state of downtown may sully the city’s reputation when world attention arrives with the 2028 Olympics," reads yet another LA Times story focused on downtown. I just do not understand why these stories fail to note that the world's attention is on us next month and the current state of downtown was deemed totally fine for the World Cup. It's not changing by 2028 at this rate!

Let's kick it together

What exactly is happening next month? Join me and special guests for What's happening with LA's World Cup, when we'll talk about where I'll be specifically focusing my reporting efforts and how you can help me track the World Cup's impacts across the city during this 39-day period. And bring your questions! Friday, June 5 from 11 a.m. to noon on Zoom. All details here.