Every four years, something shifts. Cities that don’t normally care about soccer suddenly do. Friends who’ve never watched a full match find themselves glued to a screen at 9am on a Tuesday. Coworkers argue about group stage standings. Neighborhood bars fill up hours before kickoff.
The World Cup doesn’t just draw fans, it creates them. And this summer, with the tournament coming to North America for the first time in 32 years, that energy is going to hit differently.
At StubHub, we’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. Fans from nearly every country in the world have already purchased 2026 World Cup tickets through StubHub, making this the most globally distributed event in our platform’s history. And with 39 match days spread across 16 host cities from June through mid-July, there’s no shortage of ways to be part of it.
Today, we’re announcing how we’re showing up for fans this summer — from the tools we’re building to make ticket access easier, to the experiences we’re creating on the ground in the cities where the tournament comes alive.
Access for Every Kind of Fan
Here’s something we know about World Cup fans: they don’t all experience the tournament the same way.
Some planned their trip the moment the host cities were announced. They’ve had their flights booked and their match preferences locked for months. Others are waiting to see how the bracket shakes out before committing, hoping their country makes it out of the group stage before buying a quarterfinal ticket. And plenty are going to wake up one morning during tournament week, decide today is the day, and need a ticket by afternoon.
StubHub works for all of them.
We offer tickets across all 39 match days — from the opening match through the Final — so whether you’re planning ahead or deciding last minute, there’s a path in. Every purchase comes backed by our FanProtect Guarantee, which means if something goes wrong with your ticket, we make it right. No fine print surprises. No showing up at the gate and being turned away.
We also know that for many fans, the ticket is only part of the equation. Getting to the tournament means booking flights, finding hotels, figuring out logistics in a city you may have never visited. Travel costs add up fast, and for a lot of fans, that’s the real barrier to attendance.
That’s why fans who purchase World Cup tickets through StubHub can unlock up to 20% off accommodations through Booking.com. It’s a small thing that can make a real difference, like the gap between watching from your couch and watching from the stands.
Introducing World Cup Cuts
Tickets and travel matter. But the World Cup experience starts before you ever set foot in a stadium.
It starts in the group chat when the bracket drops. It’s the jersey you dig out of the back of your closet, or the one you just ordered because your team actually made it this year. It’s the argument you have with your coworker about who’s going to win the group. It’s the barbershop conversation on a Wednesday afternoon that turns into a full tactical breakdown.
That’s the part of the World Cup we wanted to celebrate. And that’s what World Cup Cuts is about.
Starting June 10th in Los Angeles and continuing in New York ahead of the Finals, World Cup Cuts transforms neighborhood barbershops into fan gathering spaces for the tournament. These are real shops, in real neighborhoods, taken over for two days each and turned into something that feels like the World Cup itself showed up on your block.
Walk in and you’ll find complimentary haircuts and grooming services and cuts inspired by some of the most iconic looks in football history. There’s live programming, celebrity appearances, interactive experiences, and the kind of energy that comes from a room full of fans who are all counting down to the same thing. Stick around even if you don’t want a cut. There are prizes to be won, including tickets to events on StubHub, and plenty happening beyond the chair.
We’re calling it World Cup Cuts, but it’s really just what happens when you take the thing fans already do — gather, debate, celebrate, get ready — and give it a proper home.
Los Angeles: Where It All Kicks Off
The tournament opens in Los Angeles. SoFi Stadium hosts the first match on June 12th, and the city is going to feel it. LA has the largest Latino football fanbase in the United States, hosts more matches than any other American city, and has the kind of creator and culture energy that turns a moment into a movement.
World Cup Cuts arrives days before the opening match, June 10th and 11th, at Grey Matter, a men’s hair studio on La Brea Boulevard in Mid City. The space is sharp, the talent is elite, and the timing is intentional. This is where the tournament starts.
Celebrity barbers Julius Caesar and Sofie StayGold will be on-site for both days, bringing skill and style that matches the occasion. Joining them is Cristo Fernández — actor, filmmaker, soccer player, and StubHub brand ambassador — who captures exactly the spirit we’re going for with this campaign.
“For fans around the world, the World Cup is about so much more than the matches themselves,” Cristo said. “It’s about the energy, the traditions and the communities that come together around the sport. I’m excited to be supporting StubHub in celebrating all of the moments and connections that make fútbol culture special.”
Grey Matter is open June 10th and 11th, 10am to 7pm PT. Spots are free, RSVP at stubhub.com/worldcupcuts.
New York: Peak Tournament Energy
By the time World Cup Cuts arrives in New York on June 23rd and 24th, the tournament will be in full swing. Group stage drama will have played out. Some favorites will have already gone home. The matches will carry more weight with every passing round, and the city that never stops talking will have plenty to say.
New York is StubHub’s single largest World Cup market, and for good reason. The metro area brings together fan communities from every nation represented in the tournament. Walk through Jackson Heights, or the Lower East Side, or any number of neighborhoods across the five boroughs, and you’ll find people who have a very personal stake in what happens on that pitch.
We’re bringing World Cup Cuts to Cafe Mello at 345 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, in partnership with the legendary Denny Moe’s — a shop that has been part of the Harlem community for 25 years. The barbershop as community gathering place isn’t a concept we invented. Denny Moe’s has been living it for decades. We’re just showing up to be part of it during the biggest sporting event on the planet.
Frankie Flo, one of New York’s most exciting freestyle football performers, will be on-site bringing the kind of skill and spectacle that makes people stop and pull out their phones. Expect trivia, prizes, giveaways, and the general feeling that something worth being at is happening on this block.
New York is open June 23rd and 24th, 10am to 7pm ET. RSVP at stubhub.com/worldcupcuts.
Why Barbershops
Barbershops have always been more than places to get a haircut. They’re community infrastructure. Neighborhood institutions. Places where people process the game… the one that just happened, the one coming up, the one from 1998 that still doesn’t make sense. They’ve hosted debates, celebrations, and commiserations that never made the highlights but mattered just as much.
Football culture and barbershop culture have always overlapped. The cuts are part of it, whether it’s the mohawk before a big tournament, the design razored into the side before a championship run. But more than the aesthetics, it’s the energy. Both are about showing up as yourself, among your people, for something that matters.
That’s where StubHub wanted to be this summer. Not just in the stadium. In the neighborhood.
The World Cup Belongs to Fans Everywhere
That’s been our north star for this campaign, and it means something specific to us.
It means tickets available for every match, not just the marquee ones. It means buying options that work whether you’re a planner or a spontaneous decision-maker. It means travel partnerships that help close the gap between wanting to go and actually going. It means showing up in Harlem and on La Brea and eventually in London, because the World Cup doesn’t only happen inside the venues, it happens in the communities that gather around it.
“The new campaign centers on one belief: the World Cup belongs to fans everywhere,” said Raj Beri, our Chief Business Officer. “From securing tickets and planning travel to the rituals and traditions that define football culture, StubHub is helping fans experience the tournament on their own terms, wherever and however they choose to take part.”
That’s what we’re building toward this summer. A platform that gets fans to the tournament, and a campaign that meets fans where they already are.
Get Involved
World Cup Cuts is free and open to the public. Reserve your spot in line at Los Angeles or New York at stubhub.com/worldcupcuts. To browse and purchase 2026 World Cup tickets, visit StubHub.com.
Event Details
Los Angeles Grey Matter 145 N La Brea Ave A, Los Angeles, CA 90036 June 10–11, 2026 | 10am–7pm PT
New York Cafe Mello (in partnership with Denny Moe’s) 345 Lenox Ave, New York, NY 10027 June 23–24, 2026 | 10am–7pm ET