The naming of World Cup stadiums in Latin America and Europe (1962–2030): between memory, cultural heritage and commercialisation

Abstract

We analyze how the host stadiums of World Cups staged across the Americas and Latin Europe (1962–2030) concentrate sporting, urban, memorial, and economic stakes. The World Cup’s continuous expansion (duration, teams, matches, number of venues) has required massive investment and accelerated modernization, while giving rise to iconic stadiums (Azteca, Maracanã, Monumental, Santiago Bernabéu, Stade de France) that have become landmarks of collective memory, cemented by legendary matches (Seville 1982, Mexico City 1986, Rio 2014). The study is structured around two main axes: (1) geographical and infrastructural evolution (the multiplication of sites, rising attendance, capacity records, post-event reuse); (2) naming dynamics, organized into three regimes—eponyms (honoring local figures), toponyms (place-based anchoring), and “econyms” (commercial naming). While historical and linguistic rootedness remains strong in Latin America and Latin Europe, commodification is advancing through naming-rights deals in Spain, Italy, and Brazil. This reshapes identities without erasing them: it coexists with commemorative and heritage practices, producing “hybrid cultures” of the sporting place. Finally, examining the host stadiums of World Cups in the Americas and Latin Europe since 1962 shows how renovations, reconstructions, and rebrandings interweave memory, urban policy, and financial imperatives.