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.
For every new event, Oakley says her team, which manages concessions in Vancouver and Miami for World Cup 2026, builds a menu from scratch, examining who the customer is, what they think will work based on the fans, the event and more. Oakley likened preparing for a World Cup not as being a guest in someone’s house but akin to putting someone else in your own house. It’s just different. FIFA wants to lean into fan favorites, knowing there is a mix of fans interested heavily in soccer and others there for the spectacle and the opportunity. That means the traditional top-sellers, such as French fries, pizza, soda and bottled water, will be at the ready, but there’s still an opportunity to represent place.
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“You should feel the connection to the city more so than the connection to the [game] lineup,” Oakley says. “It is a nod to the city you are in and hopefully everything else is your best version.”
In Miami, that means a pan con lechon Cuban-style sandwich with slow-roasted pork and a five-pound chicken empanada Mundial, a truly Instagram-worthy creation. And Oakley expects the World Cup fan to indulge.
When it came to creating special-edition menu items, Oakley says they aimed to take ingredients synonymous with the place—surveys showed visitors from outside of Canada thought of poutine and maple syrup when thinking about Vancouver—and give the dish a twist. “We want to take something that feels familiar and do something slightly different,” she says. That’s why the maple syrup in Vancouver comes in the form of a smokie sausage topped with maple bacon onion jam in a brioche bun and the popular poutine—fries loaded with beef gravy and Canadian cheese curds—features pulled short rib.
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“I like the fact you have the tribute to traditional poutine,” Oakley says. “We have a lot of international visitors where cheese curds aren’t typically on their flavor profile. We have that pulled short rib on the top that is going to make a big difference.”
With a once-in-a-lifetime event, buying habits may be different, giving fans a willingness to indulge. Also, doors open three hours before kickoff, a much longer lead time than a typical event. The venue remains open 90 minutes past the conclusion of the game.
With many unknowns ahead of the first games—including such a massive selling window—Oakley says there’s no reason to be frugal in the way they stock the concourse. “It is incredibly easy to underestimate the volumes you tear through,” she says. “We are loaded to bear. We will be extremely responsive in terms of movement.”
One factor in play that throws a wrinkle into the process fans may not see is the need for some venues to completely switch out ingredients. In Vancouver, Molson Coors is the beer of choice, but FIFA serves Budweiser. And gone are Pepsi product, replaced by Coca-Cola. Behind the scenes it offers a “complete transformation,” a massive change to the back of house.
With all the changes and the city-focused menu items, what remains is this is a worldwide event. “Most people appreciate this doesn’t come around in their lifetime very often and we will see incredible turnout from spectators who want to experience the World Cup every minute,” she says. “This is a World Cup. Fans will want to savor the moment.”
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