Meet the local artist behind winning World Cup poster design

The 2026 World Cup is set to kick off in less than a year, with matches scheduled in multiple cities across the United States, Mexico and Canada. Six of those matches will take place in the Bay Area.

To mark the occasion, FIFA started a global poster competition last year, inviting artists to create designs that showcase the unique culture, landscape and spirit of each host city.

The results were announced earlier this year, and the honor of highlighting San Francisco and the Bay Area is going to a Sacramento-based freelance artist, LeRoid David.

Arts and sports from an early age

Born and raised in the Bay Area, David said his love for artwork started at a young age. “My mom tells me that I started drawing at the age of three,” he told Insight host Vicki Gonzalez. “Pop culture, comic books, cartoons, that’s where it all started.”

David attended San Francisco State University, majoring in graphic design. He currently works for Sacramento County, but said “art has always been a side thing for me.”

LeRoid David (right) and San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal (left) showcase David’s design for the jersey retirement ceremony of Giants player Will Clark in 2022.Courtesy of LeRoid David

“I’ve worked in tons of different industries all throughout the Bay Area, from retail to hospitality. But no matter what, I would always make time to do art,” he said.

That work, in many cases, has focused on sports, a love that David remembered also starting early in his childhood. “I used to draw myself playing sports… I’m a terrible athlete, but that’s why I stuck with drawing,” he explained. 

“I would always draw myself playing sports, I collected a lot of sports memorabilia, sports cards, I’ve always admired sports design… and I’ve always drawn my favorite athletes.” 

David said he got his first opportunity to do professional sports design work several years ago, creating artwork for NBC Bay Area Sports.

“We [were] designing these cheer cards for the local teams, and my very first sports gig was with the San Francisco Giants, followed by the Warriors, and onto other teams throughout the Bay Area, including up here in Sacramento,” said David.

His artwork has since graced more California teams including the San Francisco 49ers, San Jose Sharks, and the then-Oakland Athletics, before moving up to the international stage. 

A World Cup opportunity

It was a friend’s email late last year that clued David into the World Cup poster contest. “I didn’t even know about it in the first place,” he explained.

“At that point I thought I’d hit my bucket list of creating sports art, especially for my favorite teams, but I never thought about doing anything international like the World Cup.”

David called the contest “intimidating,” saying that for him, “it feels like you’re entering the lottery.” He said with his family’s support, “I decided to give it a shot.”

David had only a small window of time to submit his design to the Bay Area Host Committee, and immediately dove into his research.

The official 2026 FIFA World Cup Bay Area poster, designed by Sacramento graphic artist and Bay Area native, LeRoid David.Courtesy of Bay Area Host Committee

“I’ve always been familiar with the World Cup posters in the past, like Russia’s [in] 2018 and the Brazilian host city posters of 2014… huge, big, bold shapes,” David said. “Those were designs that I’ve always been in love with, and I wanted to do the same for the Bay Area.”

David said he went through at least 12 different sketches before coming up with the final design. The poster is anchored by the rising towers of the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, topped by a golden soccer ball, emerging from the Bay’s iconic fog.

“I thought about all the other landmarks, but I wanted something that was very recognizable for the international audience,” he explained. “Two bridges side-by-side, they’re almost dueling… it’s this similar view like when you’re driving under each of the towers.”

The poster also includes the stands of Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara and elements of the surrounding landscape, colored in a rich assortment of oranges, greens and blues.

“I have circuit traces coming out of the back that pay homage to Silicon Valley… and in the background, six seagulls that represent the six matches that Levi’s Stadium will be hosting next year,” David said.

The call

After turning in his final design, David said he got his first call from the host committee in January telling him he was one of the finalists. “Right there, you know, I dropped everything. I thought that was cool enough,” he said.

But the bigger call came just two weeks later. David was picking up his son from school when the Bay Area Host Committee told him he was the chosen designer 

“I had to pull over to the side and I was just bawling. I was crying,” David said. “I picked up my nine-year old, and I said, ‘guess what? Daddy’s designing a poster for the World Cup!’”

“One of the first things that came out of his mouth was ‘Messi? Lionel Messi?’ I think he thinks I’m going to meet Messi,” he joked.

David was recognized by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors for his accomplishment. He said he isn’t resting on his laurels, and has plenty of plans to stay artistically active.

A second-generation Filipino-American, David has created designs for businesses in his community as well as some public art pieces across Sacramento. More recently, he was the featured poster designer for the San Jose Earthquakes Sept. 20 Filipino Heritage Night. 

But when it comes to the World Cup, David told CapRadio the poster competition has given him a moment to reflect on his artistic journey. He credited his mother for keeping many of his childhood drawings.

“The one thing I found recently was a drawing [from] when I was six years old… it was me playing soccer,” David said. “Seeing that, and now having a design as part of the FIFA World Cup, I don’t know what you call that, serendipity?”