What Brands Need to Know Ahead of World Cup ‘26

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest entertainment, sports and cultural event ever, and it’s happening in the largest advertising market in the world (as well as Mexico and Canada). This, combined with the rising popularity of football in the US, makes this Summer’s tournament a one-of-a-kind opportunity for brands, whether they’re endemic to the sport or just soccer-curious. But it’s also at risk of being misunderstood and without doubt, it will be the noisiest World Cup tournament yet.

At Footballco, we’re not only responsible for an audience of more than 700m fans a month, across the likes of GOAL, Kooora, and a plethora of other leading dedicated football brands, we also work with brands and agencies to understand fans beyond the cliches and cut through the aforementioned noise.

At the end of last year we produced our own research for our partners, surveying more than 11,000 fans across the world. The result was a series of findings that bust open common cliches associated with big international tournaments.

Here are five we think all brands should be aware of ahead of kick-off in June.

Cliche - The World Cup brings the World Together

Football can be an unparalleled way to unite people; the reality is that we’re living in a world of constant partial togetherness, with second, third, or even fourth-screening creating a growing divide.

With a massive 93 per cent of fans stating that they will second screen during World Cup games (97 per cent for under-18s) we might be all watching the same match, but each of us will be getting a tailored experience dictated by algorithms, but creating opportunities for brands to show up through shoulder content. 

Cliche - The World Stops When the Match is On  

For a growing cohort of fans, what happens between the white lines for 90 minutes is not the most important thing. 38 per cent even say that they’re enjoyment of the tournament wouldn’t be impacted if they couldn’t watch the games.

This doesn’t mean they won’t watch, it just means there is so much more to enjoying the World Cup than matches.

Which leads us on to…

Cliche - It’s England or Bust

For fans in the UK, England is the most popular team, with 79 per cent picking the Three Lions as their favourite. But combine this with the average fan in the UK following four teams during the tournament and 90 per cent saying they’ll follow the tournament after their team is eliminated, means that brands shouldn’t stop when (or if?!) England are knocked out, and success can be found in creating content rooted in unique stories, history and fandom - not just teams and players.

Cliche - Fans just want highlights

With the globalisation of football and the expansion of access to the sport, fans today have a wider awareness of players and narratives than ever before. Even during club football, a die-hard Manchester United fan still wants to know the gossip from Real Madrid, watch a worldie from AFCON, and understand why Bodo/Glimt fans wave yellow toothbrushes. This curiosity extends to international tournaments too, which is lucky, when you consider the cost of being an official FIFA partner and the privileges that come with it.

Beyond goals and results, a massive 69 per cent of fans say they want historic or memorable moments, 65 per cent want to feel a sense of national pride and 49 per cent want to feel the atmosphere and experience the rituals - all spaces that brands are able to play in with or without being an official partner.

Cliche - You Need Official Sponsorships to be Relevant

For young fans (under 17s), especially, partnering with their favourite football influencer/creator is seen as positively as partnering with their favourite player and more positively than partnering with the World Cup competition.

Almost the same is true for fans aged between 18-27, with half saying they would feel more positive about a brand associating with a player or team, 49 per cent saying the same for creators and 47 per cent for World Cup partnerships.

When we look at what fans want the most from brand activations, authenticity and entertainment are key, with both factors being the top choices across all age groups, although of even more importance to fans aged under 35.

Of course, there is no rulebook that works for all brands and just as brands are different, so are fans. An estimated 6 billion of them will watch this year’s World Cup and they will want to consume it in their own way, this is why we’ve built a portfolio of media brands to give fans the sport they love in the way they want to consume, whether that’s fan-first social content, influencer-led formats, cartoons, deep features and reporting, podcasts and more.

If you want to know more, reach out to us directly or follow us on LinkedIn where we will be sharing more insight throughout the year.