World Cup and Vietnam: The sports city and its 'own brand'

As the referee signaled the start of the US vs Paraguay game on June 12th in Inglewood, Los Angeles, few people noted that SoFi Stadium, worth $5.5 billion, had its name erased from all FIFA official banners and visuals. In its place appeared the neutral name "Los Angeles Stadium". Firms that spent hundreds of millions to name the stadium were, per a FIFA official, "displeased, but powerless to stop it".

This is an interesting paradox. FIFA "removed" the SoFi name from official documents, yet the whole world still calls it SoFi Stadium, and Los Angeles remains Los Angeles. No one needs FIFA's permission for a city's brand. As Los Angeles prepares to host 8 World Cup 2026 matches at SoFi Stadium, a structure likened to a "city within a city", Inglewood's mayor, James Butts, still emphasizes the name "sports and entertainment capital" of at least the western US.

Los Angeles is not hosting the World Cup because FIFA chose it. FIFA chose Los Angeles because the city was ready, and will remain ready for decades to come. SoFi Stadium opened in 2020, hosted Super Bowl 2022, NCAA Championship 2023 (a high-speed car racing event), World Cup 2026, and the pinnacle, Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Three of the planet's biggest events within six years, at the same venue.

That is not luck. It is an infrastructure investment strategy designed for continuous utilization, not for a single event. SoFi is an NFL stadium, but its unique indoor-outdoor dome architecture allows natural grass to be laid over artificial turf for the World Cup, then removed afterwards—a low-cost technical solution to meet FIFA standards without renovating the entire stadium. Surrounding it is the Hollywood Park entertainment complex covering over 800,000 square meters, with a shopping center, hotels, restaurants, and the FIFA Fan Fest area.

This model does not require Los Angeles to have a strong national team, nor does it require US soccer to be top-ranked globally. The city hosts on its own merits, through infrastructure, its tourism and entertainment brand, and its logistical capacity to welcome millions of people.

The story of the "sports city" is not exclusive to giant metropolises. It is always shared with places that, sometimes, are not very prominent in finance and economics, but are widely known as top-tier event destinations. Even within sports, it sometimes does not depend on the fame of that nation's sports industry. For example, recent European football cup finals have been held in Hungary, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan…

Of course, to some extent, one cannot apply that entire framework to a city in Vietnam to build a similar model. But it is not beyond reach. Some infrastructure movements in Vietnam today show that mindset is being implemented. For instance, the high-class stadium in Hung Yen or the "Olympic City" in southern Hanoi with a sports complex and a "unique urban" model within the capital's urban area.

If we need a concrete example, look at Ninh Binh. While Ho Chi Minh City has been "going back and forth" on the Rach Chiec Sports Complex project for three decades due to unresolved investment and operation issues, Ninh Binh, a locality better known for tourism and culture, has quietly operated a "sports city" model in its own way.

Let's tally the events from 2025 to early 2026: the name Ninh Binh City hosted a series of consecutive international sports events: World Triathlon Development Regional Cup, AFC Champions League Two, ASEAN Club Championship, SEA V.League, Li-Ning Vietnam International Series, and the Grandmaster international chess tournament. Alongside that, there were 13 national-level tournaments. The Trang An Marathon attracted over 10,000 athletes from more than 15 countries. The Asia Triathlon Cup in Tam Chuc brought athletes from 15 nations, set against a UNESCO World Heritage backdrop.

Whether by accident or strategy, the international popularity of the name Ninh Binh is inevitable. And imagine, if this is a strategy, Ninh Binh could consider investing in even higher-class facilities, for example, an international stadium with 50,000-60,000 seats to host AFC Champions League finals, become a training hub for top Asian clubs, or international music events…

The core lesson from both LA and Ninh Binh is the same: sports infrastructure is not a static asset for display; it is a business tool that must be continuously activated. The World Cup or Olympics are just the pinnacle of "soft power" that a sports city can reach at the right time.