FIFA will have to break its own rule for England's World Cup semi-final showdown with Argentina at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. FIFA has strict regulations regarding branding and advertising at this summer's tournament in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, with the ground renamed the Atlanta Stadium.
Prior to the tournament, FIFA sent out a list of demands relating to advertising at host stadiums to protect tournament sponsors. The Mercedes-Benz Stadium was one venue that had to be renamed, while logos, lettering, and badges on stadiums had to be covered up. However, FIFA has been powerless in its bid to cover the giant Mercedes logo that sits atop the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof.
Exemption Granted for Roof Logo
The ground, home to NFL side Atlanta Falcons and MLS outfit Atlanta United, has been given special dispensation to keep the giant star on its roof. Earlier this year, The Athletic reported that the venue could not find a way to cover the giant badge on the roof without causing significant damage. The retractable roof, where the Mercedes logo sits, is made up of eight petals each weighing 500 tons and stretching 220 feet long.
The stadium was granted an exemption, and the roof has remained closed throughout the tournament, with air-conditioning on to maintain a cool environment amid soaring heat outside the ground.
FIFA's Advertising Rules
In a lengthy document provided by FIFA, The Athletic reported that stadiums agreed to 'the requirement that there shall be no advertising, marketing, promotion, merchandising, licensing, signage or other commercial identification of any kind on any stands, scoreboards, seats, seatbacks, time clocks, staff uniforms, Accreditation passes, fences or elsewhere inside, surrounding, or in the airspace above and around the Stadium other than that which is installed by, or at the direction of, FIFA or which is approved in writing by FIFA.'
The Mercedes logo would have been in direct conflict with FIFA's mobility partners Hyundai and Kia.
Stadium Operations Manager Comments
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Adam Fullerton, Mercedes-Benz Stadium's vice president of operations, admitted he'd been 'up all night' trying to come up with a solution to cover the Mercedes logos in early 2025. 'It’s not just on the roof,' he said. 'It’s on all the facades of the stadium, too. And they’re not small. They’re large. By design.'
