Zaileen “Z” Janmohamed is the president and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC), which leads preparations for hosting six 2026 World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium in Northern California.
SOCCER AMERICA: As we speak, the World Cup 2026 countdown is on 287 days. Is that something you keep a close eye on?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: For sure. And we have a couple of events before then. I have three countdowns going. It keeps us really focused.
SA: The NWSL final (Nov. 22 in San Jose), the NFL’s Super Bowl (Feb 8, 2026 in Santa Clara) and the World Cup …
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: And we just finished an NBA All-Star Game [Feb. 18 in San Francisco]. Our team is really good at managing the different countdown clocks that are sitting in front us.
SA: The World Cup, six games at 49ers’ home in Santa Clara’s Levi’s Stadium being the biggest …
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: The World Cup is the preeminent global sporting event. More people play the sport across the globe. More countries are involved compared to any other event, which makes it such a compelling event to work on.
When I started in this role in 2023, it was actually the only event that the Bay Area Host Committee already bid for and won. I knew that I had to be a part of a World Cup coming to the market that I live in, that I spent so much time in. It was actually a really big part of the reason I took the job.
SA: Tell us about your soccer background. I read that you grew up playing hockey?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: Yeah, I know it sounds a little strange, but I’m born and raised Canadian. When you’re born and raised Canadian you come out with skates on. I played hockey for the better part of growing up and my teenage years.
But I dabbled in soccer as well. I played rec soccer. When I was in college, I actually managed our collegiate team at Simon Fraser University. I had a really good affinity towards the sport.
And then my first job was at Major League Soccer after I graduated from my sport management degree. I’m still a big hockey fan and still play, but I have a good soccer background.
SA: Who did you work for when you were with MLS (2005-06)?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: I sat in the Soccer United Marketing group and reported into David Wright and Kathy Carter.
SA: Tell us about your experience that prepared you for World Cup hosting …
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: I’ve worked on the Olympic and Paralympic games for a long time in a lot of different facets of the sector. I’ve worked on the brand side at Visa, worked on the agency side when I was on GMR Marketing. I worked for LA28 (Olympics) — seeing all sides of what a big event looks like.
I think the different facets of the companies I’ve worked in and for give me a unique perspective of how to see the event as a business. How to grow an organization, what the revenue models need to look like, and how to operate it.
That experience has come in handy as we try to scale this organization at the Bay Area Host Committee, and drive operation and revenue and legacy planning across multiple events.
SA: Speaking of revenue. … How hard is it to raise funds to host such a big event and make the case for it being worthwhile spending when FIFA controls the major revenue streams?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: This is not uncommon. This isn’t a FIFA-only mandate or rule or parameter. All the big umbrella properties, including the IOC and the NFL and the NBA, work under the same premise. These are their crown jewel events and they’re going to have their dedicated revenue streams — ticketing, sponsorship, broadcast rights.
For the Bay Area Host Committee, it’s finding ways to work within those parameters and I think we’re really lucky. We’ve done a couple of things that I think sets us apart.
The first is, we have multiple events.
The fact that we are welcoming the world for a Super Bowl and a World Cup and an NWSL championship and an NBA All Star game — we have partners that come to the table that understand the power sport has in its entirety, vs. just the event specifically on its own. And what that sport can do for the community.
You can see that in the partners that have joined us already — an EA Sports, a PG&E, a Levi’s, a Kaiser. These are all brands that are committed to the Bay. They believe in the power of sport in our region, and they see the benefit of that sport, regardless of the sport or the event, and what that can do for the community.
So the multiple events is one.
The second thing that we’ve done is build a unique value proposition that is not tied to the event itself: Bay Area Host Committee has its own IP (Intellectual Property). It has equity in that IP. It’s built legacy programs based on that IP, and we are working through the region to establish and build what sports and the host committee can do for the region, regardless of the event that’s coming. In the hopes not only that we can create revenue streams, but that we build a sustainable organization that can bring in events even after the World Cup is here.
Yes, FIFA has a lot of the revenue streams. Would I love to have pieces of that? Of course. Anything that helps us from a revenue perspective is welcome. But I understand what the rules are. They’re not different for other properties. And so we work to figure out how we can work within them.
SA: If I understand correctly, the 49ers’ have committed $37 million of Bay Area hosting costs?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: It’s a backstop. And so our job is to raise the dollars required for the FIFA World Cup, which include bowl modifications and public safety costs.
If we are not able to raise those funds, the 49ers’ have agreed to backstop those amounts only.
The FIFA World Cup activation that we are responsible for — all the bid requirements — are obviously significantly more than $37 million, but the portion that’s related to their stadium, they have agreed to back stop those costs.
SA: And the State of California will provide some funds ($10 to 17 million) to be split between the Bay Area and the Southern California venues?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: That’s right.
SA: There is also the $625 million federal funding that was requested. Is there an update on how that will be distributed?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: That passed successfully over the summer. I was just off a call with the other host cities, and we’re working through the allocation process with the federal government. I don’t have more information on that. It’s a work in progress.
SA: FIFA opened applications for World Cup 2026 volunteers. How does that work for the Bay Area Host Committee?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: For us, there are labor laws in California that we have to just be mindful of as it relates to volunteers. The volunteer program that exists for us in the Bay Area is completely and directly managed by FIFA, so that we still abide by the labor laws that oversee us as a jurisdiction.
All of the communication around volunteers, etc., for the San Francisco Bay Area region is managed directly by FIFA. They have said that it’s been really successful. That the number of applications they’ve received here is in the 1,000s, which is great and doesn’t surprise me. But it is a direct relationship and project managed by FIFA on their own vs. the host city getting involved.
SA: Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers, is in Santa Clara, which is part of Santa Clara County, which also includes San Jose. Then there’s Oakland on the other side of the Bay Bridge. The Bay Area comprises nine counties. Can you speak to the challenge of working with various municipalities?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: It almost explains the essence of the Bay Area Host Committee. Because prior to this organization standing itself up, there wasn’t any entity that could centralize and connect all of the counties and the cities in the Bay.
And so that’s our job.
Today, I’m in San Francisco. Yesterday, I was in San Jose. Our job is to make sure that we are connecting the municipalities in the regions. Depending on who you ask, there are nine to 10 counties in the Bay Area and about 100 different cities.
My job is to make sure that as many of those counties and cities as possible are activating, leveraging and receiving the benefit — by economic impact or otherwise — from the events that are coming here.
We’ve done a few things already. We have already worked with a number of different organizations and local governments to think through how small businesses can be positively impacted across the region. We’ve developed an activation playbook around watch parties and public viewing that is available to anybody who’s on our website and wants to download and learn more.
We hosted a call, our first webinar with all interested parties. I think we had 150 people join — representatives from cities, MO’s [mayor’s offices], economic development offices all across the Bay.
Then we have relationships with destination marketing organizations or tourism organizations. We announced about a year ago an official relationship with San Francisco Travel, and then recently with Visit Santa Cruz, SF Peninsula, and then Visit Napa Valley, Napa Valley Vintners, with more to come.
These are just examples of how we want to make sure that we are centralizing as much information as possible so that the entirety of the Bay knows how to leverage these events.
We’re not-for-profit. I don’t actually need to make any profit after these events are over. What I do need to see, and what I’d like, is that there is a tangible economic impact that is as broad as possible across the Bay, and there’s an intangible societal impact, where people feel really good that we hosted these events.
The way you do that is you disseminate information, you galvanize communities, you bring them together. You’re basically trying to unite the region through sport.
We are trying to use these events to unite the Bay Area through sport. I think the World Cup is going to be awesome. There’s nothing really that unites the world like this sport of soccer. It’s something that we feel really passionate about and work on every single day.
SA: Where will the Fan Festival be?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: This one is coming soon. We will announce our location in the next few months. We’re finalizing that location to host lots and lots of fans.
SA: What will it be like for you when the draw takes place on Dec. 5, and we find out what teams will play here?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: I’m so excited for the draw. Just personally, I’m a soccer fan myself, so I just want to see how it plays out.
For us, from a planning perspective, as soon as we see who has been selected to play in the Bay Area, that will undoubtedly help in our planning process. The great news about the Bay is the fact that it is a very diverse region with already so many different demographics and types of populations that live here, that we’ll be very excited to see who will be coming and which contingent of supporters will be coming into the Bay as well.
When the draw is announced, we go into planning, both from a public safety perspective, but really how to galvanize those communities that already live in the Bay and prepare tourists who descend on the region.
SA: Foreign visitors may think the World Cup is being hosted in San Francisco — FIFA is calling the stadium “San Francisco Bay Area Stadium” — but it’s 45 miles away from San Francisco. (Currently a 2-hour public transportation trip). How will visitors be educated on the options, such as where to stay — for example San Jose is only eight miles away. I understand FIFA will provide an app?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: FIFA will have what I’d call a parent app, an umbrella one, and then the cities will be able to specify those to their market, and the transit and transportation plan that’s specific to our city will be included into that app.
The great thing about the Bay is we have three airports with Oakland, SFO and San Jose. For example, you can fly into Oakland and make your way over to Santa Clara or to our watch party pretty easily.
Our hope and expectation is that they stay throughout all the counties, right?
There are people that might want to visit Napa. Or just head into Santa Clara for the game. There are a number of hotels close to Levi’s Stadium. The great part about this region is there’s so many places you can stay, and so many things you can do that you don’t have to be right next to the stadium, and you actually don’t have to be in San Francisco if you don’t want to be. If you do, there’s a ton of places for you to stay. Thousands of rooms in San Jose. Same with Oakland. Same up and down the Peninsula.
SA: What needs to be done to ensure smooth transportation to and from the stadium? The security parameters mean that one wouldn’t have parking options in the stadium lot like at 49ers games. And although there is public transportation in the Bay Area, it’s not like in the countries of many fans who are accustomed to traversing metropolitan areas without a car.
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: You’re absolutely right. We expect that mass transit options are going to need to be available and seamless for the FIFA World Cup.
Other events might work a little bit differently, but, the fan who travels here for a World Cup is going to expect and need a different type of solution, and so we’ve been spending months now with public transit agencies across the Bay Area. There’s 29 of them, and we’re looking to do a couple things right.
First of all, we want to streamline our operations. And what I mean by that is scheduling has to be consistent between Muni and Bart and Cal Train and VTA, as your path of travel takes you to the stadium.
And then we want to make sure that it’s easy from a fare perspective, and just doesn’t feel like it’s not a turnkey solution and hard to understand. So that’s something that’s in progress right now.
SA: It’s frustrating to arrive home after visiting a city with an extensive subway system and return to sub-optimal public transport. I recently returned from a city where all you had to do to get on a subway is tap your credit card at the turnstile. Recently at SFO I ended up helping a European try to manage the BART ticket machine.
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: They literally just changed it. They introduced tap and ride (on Aug. 20).
SA: That’s great news! … BART doesn’t go to Levi’s, though. What will it be like to take public transportation to the stadium?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: There is a VTA — Valley Transit — and so at Mountain View, there’s a connection point between Cal Train and VTA as a light rail system.
SA: With security eliminating the usual parking for 49ers and other events, will there be any parking available?
ZAILEEN JANMOHAMED: There will be parking, it might not be right directly in the places you’re used to parking when you come in for a 49er game because of the perimeter issues, but we will ensure that there is some sort of park-and-ride solution. We are hoping that the majority of fans do take public transit. That is our goal.
Part of that transit working group is ensuring that the agencies closest to the stadium are connected to the ones that are further away, as far as the North Bay, so that path of travel is seamless.
The exciting part for me is if you can use this event to actually help change the mass transit model for the long term in the Bay Area, so that these schedules are seamless on a day-to-day basis for people who live here.
That’s where I’m hoping we can make an impact. To figure out a system that actually works for the people who live here on a day-to-day basis. That’s the gold star for me.
