Zaileen Janmohamed has had her eye on 2026 for the last 3½ years, ever since she was hired to lead the newly revived Bay Area Host Committee.

The organization makes sure the biggest sports events in the world run smoothly when they arrive on the Bay Area’s shores. And events don’t get much bigger than the men’s FIFA World Cup — the world’s most prestigious and widely viewed international soccer tournament — which the Bay Area will cohost along with 11 other U.S. cities in 2026.

But only days into her tenure leading the nonprofit, 2026 turned from important to unprecedented.

“I walked into my first board meeting, and the board was like, ‘We should also bid for the Super Bowl that year,’” Janmohamed said.

Two months later, Janmohamed — BAHC’s president and CEO — stood in a conference ro

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