Sports
FIFA World Cup 2026: meet the brands behind football’s biggest bonanza
From Adidas to Airbnb, the biggest names in global business are scrambling for a slice of the most lucrative tournament in the sport’s history
CANADA/MEXICO/US: The world’s biggest sporting event is about to become its biggest commercial one, too. When the FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11 across Canada, Mexico and the United States, 48 teams will chase glory and hundreds of brands will chase billions.
FIFA projects $13bn in total revenue from the tournament, with sponsorship alone expected to haul in $2.8bn, up sharply from $1.8bn at the Qatar 2022 edition. Over six billion people, roughly three-quarters of the planet, are expected to engage with the competition across 104 matches in 16 cities.
The money, in short, is staggering.
At the top of the sponsor pyramid sit FIFA’s principal global partners. Adidas supplies the official match ball and sportswear. Hyundai-Kia handles mobility. Visa owns the payments category. Qatar Airways is the official airline. Saudi oil giant Aramco, FIFA’s exclusive energy partner through 2027, brings petrodollar muscle to the portfolio, alongside Coca-Cola on beverages and Lenovo on technology.
The second tier reads like a roll call of corporate America, with Bank of America, McDonald’s, Verizon and AB InBev, whose brands include Budweiser, Michelob Ultra, Modelo and Stella Artois, all jostling for eyeballs. Frito-Lay, Hisense, Mengniu Dairy and Unilever round out the middle tier.
Further down, a clutch of regional and tournament-specific backers includes Airbnb, DoorDash, Home Depot, Marriott Bonvoy, Salesforce and Diageo, alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund, logistics firm Rock-It Cargo, IT consultancy Globant and lubricants brand Valvoline. American Airlines serves as an official supplier.
Airbnb may be the most bullish of the lot. The company says the World Cup will be the biggest hosting event in its history, dwarfing even the 2024 Paris Olympics, with some 400,000 fans booked into its properties. “We are integrated into the ticket purchasing flow on the FIFA app,” said Juan David Borrero, Airbnb’s global head of partnerships and business development.
Forty-eight nations. Sixteen cities. Three host countries. One extraordinary river of cash, and every brand on earth wants to swim in it.
