East Rutherford, NJ, United States, November 19, 2024 7 TRAVELINDEX / Bettina Garibaldi has been appointed as the chief marketing and communications officer for the FIFA World Cup 2026 New York New Jersey host committee, effective November 1.
Garibaldi reports to Lauren LaRusso and Bruce Revman, co-host city managers of the committee. She is responsible for leading marketing and communications to promote the FIFA World Cup 2026 and related events in New York and New Jersey and building out the team, she told PRWeek.
“What this includes is all things marketing strategy, brand management, licensing, advertising, fan engagement, promotion, collaborations, data-driven adjustments, stakeholder relations and public relations,” Garibaldi explained to PRWeek. “It’s quite exciting, because it is a huge event coming up, which is really important for North America.”
The 2026 event will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international men’s soccer championship contested by the national teams of the member associations of FIFA.
The World Cup will be hosted across three nations – Canada, Mexico and the U.S. – for the first time in 2026 and is the first competition contested in North America since it was convened in the U.S. in 1994.
The 2026 World Cup tournament is also the first to host 48 teams, expanded from 32, and will take place from June 11-July 19, 2026, across 16 cities in North America. New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, home field of the New York Giants and New York Jets, will host the FIFA World Cup final match scheduled for July 19, 2026.
“Our goal is to create the most engaging, accessible, inclusive and impactful FIFA World Cup 2026 experience for all fans, athletes, partners and communities, and we’re thrilled to have [Garibaldi] on board to lead all our marketing and communications efforts to support this mission,” LaRusso and Revman told PRWeek via email.
Earlier this year, Garibaldi founded her consultancy Betrek, counseling clients across the sports, travel, hospitality, leisure and consumer packaged goods.
Before that, she worked at Ketchum for 15 years, most recently as EVP and MD of travel, hospitality and leisure.
“Seasoned in marketing and communications with 20 years of experience on the agency side, I have a genuine passion for and understanding of soccer, being that I’m originally from Argentina, and I’ve played a role in the FIFA World Cup 2022 and FIFA World Cup 2014 efforts in Qatar and Brazil,” Garibaldi added.
