Goodbye Azteca, hello Banorte: the historic name change
After almost six decades, the Azteca Stadium has a new nominal owner. Due to sponsorship issues that financed its remodeling for the 2026 World Cup, it will now be officially called Banorte Stadium.
But don’t worry, this is only for the papers and contracts.
During the World Cup, which will be the third that our country and the stadium will host after 1970 and 1986, the venue will be called Mexico City Stadium because FIFA prohibits commercial sponsorships.
The fans, rightly so, will continue to call him Azteca. That name is burned into the collective memory of national football. It’s like trying to change a lifelong friend’s nickname: it just doesn’t work.
A colossus with a legendary history
The greatest figures in world football have run, sweated and done magic on that grass. That field saw Pelé lift the World Cup in ’70 and Maradona in ’86. Two moments that defined eras.
Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldinho, Platini… the list of giants who set foot on the ‘Colossus of Santa Úrsula’ is endless. Each one left a little piece of their genius among those stands that vibrate like no other.
The name change is a necessary commercial formality to modernize the property. But the soul of the stadium, the one that shakes with every goal of the National Team, that remains 100% Azteca.
Now it’s time to prepare to write a new chapter: Mexico 2026. The stage is set. Only the heroes are missing.
