49ers president under fire in World Cup deal
A letter sent last week to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen renewed allegations of illegal conflicts of interest by San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido, in connection with the team’s successful efforts to bring World Cup soccer matches to Levi’s Stadium in 2026.
In their four-page letter, three local 49ers critics contended the city of Santa Clara has known for more than two years that Guido may have violated state clean-government laws in World Cup negotiations. But Santa Clara, which is controlled by a City Council majority elected with the help of 49ers campaign contributions, won’t do anything about it, they claimed.
“The issues we raise in this letter are important, time-sensitive and urgent,” wrote Thomas Shanks, former director of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics; Teresa O’Neill, a former City Council member; and Pedro Hernandez-Ramos, an assistant education professor at Santa Clara University.
They urged Rosen to intervene, contending “the public’s trust and confidence in their local government is eroding every day.”
Sean Webby, a spokesperson for Rosen’s office, wrote in an email to the Chronicle on Monday, “We have received the complaint alleging impermissible conflicts of interest in the making of contracts related to the City of Santa Clara’s bid to host 2026 World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium. We are in the process of gathering additional information to determine the appropriate course of action.”
Brian Brokaw, a spokesperson for the 49ers, said the team could not comment on a letter it hadn’t seen. “But we look forward to welcoming the World Cup and Super Bowl to the Bay Area in 2026,” Brokaw wrote in an email, “along with the hundreds of millions in economic benefits they will bring to local businesses and the entire region.”
The complaint arises from Guido’s multiple roles within the 49ers’ organization. Besides working as team president, he is president of a 49ers company that manages publicly owned Levi’s Stadium on behalf of the city. Guido also is president of the board of directors of the Bay Area Host Committee, a 49ers-affiliated non-profit, which led the effort to bring World Cup soccer to Levi’s in 2026.
In June 2022, the letter stated, Guido signed an agreement with FIFA on behalf of both the host committee and the stadium management company — in essence, critics said, representing both the public and the non-profit in the deal.
That’s “a disqualifying conflict of interest” under the state’s Political Reform Act, they contended in their letter, because the best financial deal for taxpayers, owners of the stadium, might not be the best deal for the 49ers.
Questions about Guido’s potential conflicts became public even before the FIFA agreement was signed.
In February 2022, thencity manager Deanna Santana warned the City Council that because of his multiple roles, Guido might end up essentially negotiating with himself to craft a stadium agreement for the World Cup — in her view a potential violation of the law.
Two days later, five council members backed by 49ers campaign donations voted to fire Santana. The effort was led by Anthony Becker, who now awaits trial on a perjury charge in connection with alleged election-year improprieties involving a 49ers lobbyist. At the time of Santana’s firing, the 49ers said her criticism was unfounded.
Last week’s letter to the district attorney came in the wake of two public speakers reviving the conflict-of-interest accusations this month at City Council meetings. Shanks, the ethicist, spoke April 8 and asked why City Attorney Glen Googins had not taken action; Kirk Vartan, a local restaurant owner and adviser to Mayor Lisa Gillmor, made a similar presentation April 23.
“I am aware of potential conflict issues in this matter and they are under analysis,” Googins said Monday in a statement emailed by a city spokesperson. “As with all such matters, any legal advice my office provides … (will be) both consistent with City/Stadium Authority objectives and protect City/Stadium Authority interests.”
Violations of the state conflict of interest law usually are punished by fines. Public contracts marred by conflicts of interest can be canceled.
At the local level, the law is typically enforced by city attorneys or district attorneys, but private parties can sue for enforcement if authorities choose not to act. The city has refused to release financial information about the World Cup, including what rent FIFA will pay to use Levi’s Stadium.
Other North American cities hosting World Cup matches have multimillion-dollar budgets to put on their part of the soccer tournament. City Manager Jovan Grogan and the 49ers both have said the city will be reimbursed for any costs incurred in hosting the event.
Santa Clara officials said they expect to release relevant financial information on the World Cup later this year.