FIFA World Cup Stadium Food About Celebrating The City

BusinessSportsMoneyFIFA World Cup Stadium Food About Celebrating The CityByTim Newcomb,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Tim Newcomb covers tennis gear/business, stadiums and shoe tech.Follow AuthorJun 12, 2026, 07:11pm EDTBC Place Vancouver Stadium, one of 16 host sites for FIFA World Cup 2026, features a fan-favorite menu of food complete with Vancouver-specific special-edition items.FIFA As World Cup fans descend on the 16 stadiums in use for the largest-ever World Cup in history, the food in each venue is meant to evoke a sense of place. From Miami to Vancouver, that means something a little different in each spot, but one thing remains constant: Fan favorites take center stage, highlighted by city-specific special-edition menu items meant to provide a jolt of energy to an already buzzing event.“This one is a bit unique. It has been years in the making and all the vendors in the FIFA World Cup are bringing to life what they do, but respecting FIFA’s desire to have a uniformity of experience,” Belinda Oakley, Sodexo Live! CEO, tells me. And that’s distinct for a major event. FIFA was extremely hands-on during the menu creation process. That means instead of menus changing for each match to tie directly to the teams playing—major sporting events or event concerts, such as the Taylor Swift The Eras Tour, often featured custom one-off food and beverage items themed to that day—stadiums will feature consistent World Cup-themed items. So, at Vancouver’s opening game—Australia versus Turkey—Oakley jokes she won’t be able to line the BC Place Vancouver Stadium shelves with Vegemite sandwiches, but they can lean into Vancouver, offering up a short rib poutine and a maple bacon smokie. The short rib poutine served in Vancouver offers a city-specific item for World Cup 2026. Sodexo Live!For every new event, Oakley says her team, which manages concessions in Vancouver and Miami for World Cup 2026, builds a menu from scratch, e...