The 2026 FIFA World Cup is bringing more than matches and superstars, from France’s Kylian Mbappé and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s giving brands the chance to bring fans closer than they’ve ever been to soccer’s pinnacle event.
The tournament is projected to reach 6 billion people — roughly 75% of the world population — according to FIFA’s audience data. It’s also projected to break live sporting attendance records, with 5 million fans expected to attend matches in person.
With that popularity, this year’s World Cup ticket prices have hit a historic high, reaching double the average amount of the 2022 tournament and quadruple the average amount of the 1994 games, though those numbers have been falling recently.
Unlike the Super Bowl, which garners a mostly American audience, or the NBA Finals, which attracts a younger fanbase with 45% of fans under the age of 35, the World Cup caters to an audience spanning continents, cultures and generations.
World Cup fans are “incredibly diverse, multi-generational and hyperpassionate,” explains Ricardo Aspiazu, Verizon’s SVP of creative and brand design.
“It transcends standard sports fandom,” he says. “You have die-hards who’ve followed players for decades, alongside casual fans who just get swept up in the energy of the moment. It’s a massive, global stage.”
The next World Cup isn’t until 2030, so brands have a one-month window when matches kick off on June 11 and conclude on July 19. In that limited time, marketers are competing to become just as memorable as the tournament’s 104 matches — often by bringing supporters as close to the action as possible.
“Soccer fans are incredibly smart,” Aspiazu explains. “They have a high B.S. detector. If a brand just plasters its logo everywhere without giving anything real back to the culture, fans tune it out instantly.”
To give “back to the culture,” brands from Verizon to TikTok are bringing fans pitchside in the U.S., Canada and Mexico with “Golden Ticket” giveaways and content creator correspondents.
Verizon Access offered fans private video chats with U.S. legend Tim Howard and Mexican star Chucky Lozano, but with a twist: Mid-call, the players surprised fans with “golden” World Cup tickets with pitchside access.
“We asked, ‘What brings fans closer than a face-to-face call with their hero?’ and, ‘What if that hero is the one telling them they’re going pitchside at the biggest sporting event on earth?’” Aspiazu says. “Those reactions were emotional. We didn’t just give them a ticket, we gave them a story they’ll tell for the rest of their lives.”
As the World Cup’s telecommunication services sponsor, Verizon was “the only brand that could pull off that level” of pitchside access, Aspiazu says.
Brands without in-person ticket giveaways are bringing fans pitchside in other ways. For example, TikTok is giving fans behind-the-scenes footage with 30 soccer-focused TikTok creators from 22 global cities through its Creator Correspondents program.
“Sports on TikTok aren't just highlight clips,” explains Rollo Goldstaub, TikTok’s global head of sport. “It's culture. It's a community.”
“Every country has its own story coming into this tournament,” he adds. “Having creators on the ground, in those communities, telling those stories in real time is exactly what this format was built for.”
TikTok’s FIFA partnership launched during the 2023 Women’s World Cup and “generated tens of billions of views, showing us how hungry fans are for this kind of content,” Goldstaub says, noting that fans are 42% more likely to tune into live games after engaging with sports content on TikTok.
“From there, we asked, ‘How does a TikTok user experience a major tournament, what do they watch, when do they watch it, what makes them leave?’” Goldstaub explains.
“The answer is putting trusted creators inside the tournament itself,” he adds. “Not as spectators, but as correspondents who are embedded in the World Cup the way their audiences actually want to consume it.”
TikTok expects the World Cup “to be the biggest stage yet,” Goldstaub says, noting that the platform also sent creators to cover the Winter Olympics with NBCU’s Creator Collective program.
For home viewers, TikTok isn’t the only option to feel closer to the action. Home Depot’s World Cup campaign is designed for fans who are “hosting, upgrading their spaces and turning backyards into the best seat in the house…to help everyone transform their homes into ultimate matchday destinations,” says Allison Kolber, Home Depot’s VP of integrated marketing.
Home Depot teamed with former soccer superstar and now-Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham to create Beckham’s Backyard activations during FIFA Fan Festivals. It is also revealing the identity of Josh Lucas, who has been the brand’s unseen voice for over a decade, in spots to promote the events.
“This is our largest single-sports marketing initiative to date,” Kolber explains, noting Home Depot’s 23-year stint working with ESPN’s College GameDay, a two-decade run with Major League Soccer and work with the Mexican National Team.
“It felt like the right time to give our customers that special reveal.”
Whether through Verizon’s Golden Tickets, TikTok’s Creator Correspondents or Home Depot’s Beckham’s Backyard activations, many brands are aiming for a shared goal: bringing fans closer to the pitch.
“We hope fans gain a sense of belonging and that wherever they are in the world, there's someone at this World Cup who sounds like them, thinks like them and is experiencing the tournament with them,” Goldstaub explains.
