The World Cup and much more: it’s all about sportstainment

The FIFA World Cup is not only an amusement park for sports brands: it represents an unmissable opportunity even for fashion and luxury brands. It is the first time in history that the tournament is set in three different countries. And, as well, it is the first time that 48 teams are participating, with a total of 104 matches. The results: more games, more business, more sportstainment

by Massimiliano Viti

FIFA estimates that 6 billion people will be watching at least one game, making this World Cup edition the biggest sports event in history. Then, in this particular age of sportstainment, everything will reach a wider audience. Sportstainment is the fusion of sport and entertainment, a phenomenon in which the sports event can’t be considered merely a competition, but it transforms into an immersive and multimedia spectacle.

It’s all about sportstainment

The organizers’ goal is to maximize audience engagement, by bringing together competition, marketing and storytelling (often incorporating music and other events as well). This offers to all brands (not only sports ones) the possibility to participate in this great event, becoming one of the protagonists. All of this project will make the World Cup a highly profitable platform that no brand can afford to ignore. The stakes are high and competition is ruthless, but the opportunity is unmissable.

Sports brands

One of the matches is truly played by sports brands. “In the run-up to the World Cup, we start to plan with years in advance” states to Vogue Alasdhair Willis, Adidas chief creative officer. The brand reportedly spent 67 million dollars for the Backyard Legends videospot. Nike has strongly answered with the short film Rip the Script, which involves 31 celebrities, coming not only from football, but the exact budget used to film it is unknown. Then, a whole another championship is played by fashion brands that launch football-related products and aim to increase their visibility. Then, another significant Cup is played by luxury brands.

6 billion dollars

Marguerite Le Rolland, head of the footwear and apparel division of Euromonitor, estimates that the World Cup will attract up to 1,2 million high spending visitors, who will spend approximately 6 billion dollars on travel, hotels and shopping. “Many visitors will extend their stay even after the event, in order to experience the destination, further boosting tourism spending in the host countries”, as stated by Le Rolland.

They will travel by private jets, they will use helicopters for transportation, they will stay in exclusive suites and book VIP courtside tickets and personalized experiences. In addition to these customers, fashion brands will be focusing on the players’ tunnel looks, on their post-game outfits and on media appearances, as well as appearances by players and coaches at particular events. Two testimonials stand particularly out: Kylian Mbappé (France), who has already had experience with Dior 2026 summer campaign, and Jude Bellingham (England), Louis Vuitton ambassador since 2024.

Special collections

Various brands are even betting on special initiatives as, for example, Balenciaga, that presented a brand new prêt-à-porter football-inspired collection. Or as Burberry, that is back in the game with its A Good Sport campaign. Other fashion brands have designed the kits of some National teams. For instance: Loewe to Spain, Jacquemus with Nike to France, Gabriela Hearst for Uruguay. Lastly, a significant role will be played by social media, which transformed, specifically, football players into global lifestyle icons. Even FIFA is taking this change into account within its tournament strategy, announcing TikTok as its own Preferred Platform, in order to offer viewers exclusive behind-the-scenes access and live streams.

Significant sociocultural differences

A manifest difficulty that brands have to deal with is that the three host nations have huge cultural, economic and linguistic differences. Chris Beer, data journalist for the GWI platform, states that “Mexico is a ripe market for football, with eight out of ten consumers following the sport”. Instead, Canada and the USA offer more promising opportunities for growth, since “nowadays less than a half of the population of each country is engaged in football”. A truly meaningful opportunity, given China’s economic slowdown.

Asian passion

Speaking of Asian markets: some of them, such as India and China, registered a huge increase in football viewership over the last decade, but they still represent – in this sense – a territory waiting to be explored. Winning over Asian football fans, however, will be a tall order. So, the real challenge is and will be creating a narration able to communicate, at the same time, to everyone, with the same language and suggestions. Whoever will manage to strike a right balance between appearing cosmopolitan and being truly integrated into the world of football will succeed. Then, if they can do so across all platforms, along with a clear communication, so much better.

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