Tom Ryan
The Home Depot and Lay’s both recently signed on as sponsors of FIFA World Cup 2026, one of the most lucrative athletic events globally, which for the first time is being hosted across three countries — Canada, Mexico, and the U.S.
The men’s soccer tournament, held every four years, will also feature 48 teams, an expansion from 32 teams qualifying to play since the 1998 games.
As the Official Home Improvement Retailer of the event, Home Depot will run on-site activations at stadiums and FIFA fan festivals. Through its retail media network, select supplier partners in exclusive categories will be able to participate in World Cup-themed activations alongside Home Depot.
“We know our customers love sports and we love connecting with them through their passions,” said Molly Battin, SVP and chief marketing officer at Home Depot. “We can’t wait to help build the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. — the communities where we live and work.”
PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay announced that its Lay’s brand will serve as an official sponsor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil, extending Frito-Lay’s role as a regional supporter during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and as a tournament supporter at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023.
Lay’s will also be prominently featured on each pitch during every match through LED field board exposure, press conference backdrops, and products sold across concession stands. Beyond stadiums, Lay’s and other PepsiCo snack brands, including Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, and Ruffles, will hold FIFA fan zones across hosting cities.
Jane Wakely, chief consumer and marketing officer and chief growth officer of international foods at Lay’s, said, “Soccer is one of the world’s biggest passion points, and this historic partnership allows us to bring the excitement and reach of the FIFA World Cup and the FIFA Women’s World Cup together with the joy and fun of our iconic brands across the world.”
FIFA’s top-tier partners include Aramco, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Hyundai and Kia, Lenovo, Qatar Airways, and Visa, while other sponsors include Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bank of America, McDonald’s, Mengniu Diary, Unilever, and Verizon.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, the FIFA World Cup will feature a “Super Bowl-like” halftime show during the final championship match to be held at the MetLife Stadium on July 19, 2026.
Football has been America’s favorite sport since 1972. According to a Gallup poll taken in December 2023, 41% of respondents said their favorite sport was football, followed by 10% for baseball, 9% for basketball, and 5% for soccer.
However, soccer continues to expand in popularity, with many fans increasingly playing in their youth (or watching their kids play). A recent report on the state of soccer fandom in the U.S. by marketing, media, and experiences company For Soccer shows that the number of people who have been soccer fans for five years or fewer is up 57% compared to last year, and the number of first-time fans is up 400% year-over-year.
The last time the U.S. hosted the FIFA World Cup was in 1994 when the country had only a handful of professional soccer leagues. With the current momentum behind the sport, many are predicting the FIFA World Cup 2026 could be a breakthrough event for the sport of soccer, with the marketing opportunity potentially rivaling the Super Bowl in the U.S.
Ray Major, chief deputy CEO and chief economist at SANDAG, told the San Diego Union-Tribune, “Soccer fans continue to grow in the U.S., and around the world, making the World Cup more appealing than ever. More importantly, the 2026 World Cup will be held in North America at 16 locations, many of which will be in the U.S. One should not underestimate the impact of potential advertisers who are going to go all out to market and sponsor what is essentially 16 Super Bowls in one year.”
Jessica Giordano, senior partnership and brand experience leader at marketing and sponsorship activation agency GMR Marketing, said on the Footballco Business Podcast, “One of my most favorite parts about the World Cup itself is just the fandom and the pure melting of culture, which you see in the World Cup. And so when we talk about, again, the biggest event, I think it’s bringing all of those elements. And [it’s] in the United States, which is the most commercially significant event as well.”
What do you think of the potential marketing opportunity around FIFA World Cup 2026?
How does the marketing opportunity differ from other prime sports events such as the Super Bowl or Olympics?
What’s the likelihood that the FIFA World Cup 2026 will represent a breakthrough event for the sport of soccer?
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