‘Dreams will take root:’ Santa Clara starts the yearlong countdown to the 2026 World Cup

Set against the backdrop of Levi s Stadium the official FIFA World Cup countdown clock began ticking down from days on Wednesday morning signaling the approach of the world s biggest soccer tournament that s coming to the Bay Area next year Excitement reverberated throughout the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park as city functionaries unveiled the host city plaque to a crowd of kids clad in cleats and jerseys who were eager to take part in a youth soccer clinic led by former San Jose Earthquakes athlete Shea Salinas For Mayor Lisa Gillmor who helped identified the soccer park more than two decades ago the bronze plaque represents more than the honor of hosting the World Cup it is a symbol for the countless young players who will be inspired to pick up a ball and start their journey A plaque is unveiled at the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group This World Cup will do something extraordinary for our youth soccer region Gillmor revealed It will bring new materials new opportunities and new inspirations More kids will want to play more families will get involved and more dreams will take root right here in Santa Clara The Silicon Valley enclave is one of cities across North America that was selected to host the World Cup The soccer tournament will feature teams from countries up from meaning teams that haven t qualified in the past will be making their World Cup debut This is already the matter for Uzbekistan which captured a spot from the Asian region Six matches will be played at Levi s Stadium home of the San Francisco ers including one knockout match on July Preparations have long been underway as the ers who manage the stadium revealed last year that they were making million in renovations to the more than decade-old venue FIFA is expected to hold the World Cup group stage draw ceremony at the end of the year which will determine which teams play in the Levi s Stadium matches while ticket sales are likely to begin in the fall But there is a chance that national teams included in President Donald Trump s movement ban might not make it to the tournament The Trump administration not long ago signed an order barring nationals from Afghanistan Myanmar Chad the Republic of Congo Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Haiti Iran Libya Somalia Sudan and Yemen from entering the United States Citizens from seven other countries Burundi Cuba Laos Sierra Leone Togo Turkmenistan and Venezuela will face partial tour restrictions The ban went into effect on Monday Trump s order specifies an exception for athletes coaches essential staffers and immediate family for athletes traveling to the U S for the World Cup Olympics and other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State But it says nothing about fans of these national teams In February the Santa Clara City Council signed off on a key agreement that will shift the financial pitfall of hosting the World Cup to the Bay Area Host Committee a nonprofit dedicated to bringing major sporting events to the region City agents estimate that the cost of hosting the tournament which includes populace safety costs and other improvements necessary to meet FIFA requirements will run anywhere between million and million The Bay Area Host Committee is in the process of fundraising and the ers have agreed to act as a financial backstop if the nonprofit can t cover all the costs The World Cup is the second major sporting event coming to Santa Clara next year as Levi s Stadium will host its second Super Bowl the th Big Meeting on Feb But the World Cup is expected to put millions more eyes on the city Super Bowl is America s event there s a lot of awareness around what that is to people who live in the United States to people who follow the ers Zaileen Janmohamed the president and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee disclosed in an interview The World Cup is the world s meeting and with that comes extra exposure Hassan Khalil of Santa Clara runs with the ball during a soccer clinic for FIFA World Cup SF Bay Area One Year to Go Kick Off Ceremony at Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Lisa M Gillmor mayor of Santa Clara left and Zaileen Janmohamed President and CEO of the Bay Area Host Committee stand with a plaque in honor of FIFA at the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group A count down clock is presented during the FIFA World Cup SF Bay Area One Year to Go Kick Off Ceremony at Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Santa Clara mayor Lisa M Gillmor speaks during a press conference for the FIFA World Cup SF Bay Area One Year to Go Kick Off Ceremony at Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group A children soccer clinic is held during the FIFA World Cup SF Bay Area One Year to Go Kick Off Ceremony at Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Hassan Khalil of Santa Clara runs with the ball during a soccer clinic for FIFA World Cup SF Bay Area One Year to Go Kick Off Ceremony at Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park in Santa Clara Calif Wednesday June Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Expand Janmohamed who has has attended several World Cups in the past reported that Santa Clara and the greater Bay Area will experience a passion from soccer fans and an capacity around the sport like they ve never seen before During the World Cup which had matches at the old Stanford Stadium the Brazilian national organization and their fans descended on downtown Los Gatos dancing through the streets following a win against the United States in a knockout match There s something about the sport Janmohamed stated Not only is it beautiful to watch but it just captivates people of all different backgrounds all different races and it s really the sport that brings people together I cannot wait for the Bay Area to experience that Aly Wagner a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time World Cup bronze medalist who helped co-found Bay FC was -years-old the last time the soccer tournament came to town It changed that drive to I want to play for the national association I want to go experience what those players are feeling on the pitch when fans are getting out of their seat and screaming their heads off because you just scored a goal that puts them into the next round she stated in an interview It changed my life in that suddenly it wasn t a if it was a when I would play on the world stage Wagner knows that a whole new generation of Bay Area kids will be inspired by next year s World Cup and expects to see the fruits of the experience in the next years That s the passion that is going to set them internally on fire and ignite dreams she revealed You re going to have this younger generation fall in love with the match in a way that they didn t even know they could even if they already love it Gabriel Sama contributed to this document