How brands are showing up around the FIFA World Cup 2026
Brands are leveraging the tournament as a platform to launch campaigns, create experiences, engage customers and connect with football fans
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Rugby Australia inked a new multi-year partnership with Melbourne world-renowned distillery, Starward Whisky, which became the Official Whisky Partner of the Wallabies, Wallaroos and Perth SVNS
Rugby Australia secured a partnership extension with Australia’s leading cyber security services firm CyberCX (part of Accenture) through to the end of 2027
Rugby Australia and Coca-Cola announced a 4-year partnership across National Teams that will see the world’s largest beverage manufacturer become the official soft drink, hydration, and energy drink partner for the Wallabies, Wallaroos and Australian Sevens teams (Coca-Cola has also been confirmed as the exclusive non-alcoholic ready-to-drink beverage partner for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia)
Western Sydney Wanderers announced a new partnership with Jaecoo ahead of its Sydney Super Cup clash against Chelsea FC next month
Melbourne Victory and Movember launched a strategic partnership aimed at supporting men’s health - during Men’s Health Week, Movember mental health guidelines will be piloted in community football clubs to support improved mental health for players, coaches and volunteers
Collingwood FC welcomed Comfort Sleep as the Club’s Official Elite Sleep Partner for the next year
Brisbane Bullets welcomed Australia’s leading car buying service Motor Scout Australia back on board as a major partner for Hungry Jack’s NBL27
Adelaide 36ers secured a 3-year partnership extension with Nippy’s, a proudly South Australian owned, family-run manufacturer of real fruit juices and flavoured milk drinks
Melbourne Vixens announced a new partnership with The Pass, a free-to-join loyalty app rewarding good times at more than 200 pubs and bars across Australia
Softball Australia announced Queensland University of Technology as its major education partner, forming a powerful alliance designed to propel Australian softball toward success at the LA28 Olympic Games
Water Polo Australia confirmed a partnership extension with Australian wealth management and investment firm Ord Minnett
New Balance opened one of its new ‘Grey Stores’ in QV Melbourne - Designed as a gallery-like space, it features exclusive collaborations, ‘MADE in USA’ and ‘MADE in UK’ collections, and limited-edition releases
WA Government unveiled a new partnership with Virgin Australia to offer discounted airfares to Perth ahead of the three-match series featuring AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus and Palermo - The deal is designed to make it easier and more affordable for interstate fans to travel to WA
Queensland Government unveiled plans for its largest upgrade to Suncorp Stadium in the venue’s 23-year history which includes an increase in capacity, a wraparound LED video screen, new terrace viewing platforms and entertainment zones
GIANTS Super Netball League goal shooter Matisse Leatherbarrow became an Ambassador for the Kids with Cancer Foundation to help shine a light on the more than 1,000 children diagnosed with cancer every year
AFL is reportedly considering a ‘mid-to-long-term’ plan to play a home-and-away game in Mumbai, India (via Seven, Tom Morris)
NRL and Mark Hughes Foundation joined forces to kick off the 10th anniversary Beanie for Brain Cancer Round across Round 17 of the 2026 Telstra Premiership Season
NRL reportedly agreed to salary cap concessions where existing club sponsors can top-up a Perth Bears player’s contract by 20% in a bid to compete with rival expansion side PNG Chiefs - the total team-wide concession amount cannot exceed $500,000 (via Code Sports)
NRL State of Origin Game 2 in Melbourne was the most watched Origin game of all time (4.3M) and biggest Origin crowd of all time (91,671)
Australian Open 2026 set new benchmarks, breaking attendance records, attracting unprecedented visitor stays in Melbourne, and delivering a record $722.32 million injection into the local economy, according to a new IER report
Australian Professional Leagues announced Total Soccer Growth Holdings (majority shareholder of Queens Park Rangers and part-owner of Los Angeles FC) as the new owner of the Central Coast Mariners FC
Marvel Stadium unveiled ‘Marvel Stadium 365’ - a new attractions hub offering a suite of unique experiences for visitors 365 days a year - Launching in July and developed in partnership with Imagineear, FutureLabs, and District Agency ‘Marvel Stadium 365 Tour’ will be the first experience to be rolled-out
Water Polo Australia announced Kayo Sports as the official broadcast partner of the 2026 World Aquatics Water Polo World Cup Finals in Sydney
Populous, a global sports and entertainment design practice, announced a partnership with Melbourne Victory midfielder and Chelsea FC legend, Juan Mata, who will become a special advisor to the firm’s practise on Football & Training
DAZN (owner of Foxtel Group) is reportedly restructuring its business (with a new Cayman Islands holding company) to make it easier to raise new money and explore a possible public listing (via the Financial Times)
American influencer and online streamer, IShowSpeed (55M+ YouTube subscribers) struck a deal with FIFA, Fox, and YouTube to stream live FIFA World Cup games
Electronic Arts introduced ‘EA Advertising’ - a new platform enabling brands to connect with hundreds of millions of fans across its global portfolio of games
LVMH’s private-equity arm L Catterton is reportedly in exclusive talks to acquire a stake in Hyrox
How brands are showing up around the FIFA World Cup 2026
Every four years, the FIFA World Cup becomes one of the biggest marketing stages on the planet.
The 2026 edition has taken that opportunity to an entirely new level.
Hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico, featuring 48 nations and 104 matches, this is the largest FIFA World Cup in history, up 50% from the last one which had 32 teams competing.
FIFA’s tournament expansion has created significantly more inventory for broadcasters, sponsors and brands, providing more opportunities to reach audiences at scale than ever before.
For brands, partners and broadcasters in Australia, the tournament has become far more than a sporting event - it‘s a platform to launch campaigns, create experiences, engage customers and connect with football fans at a time when attention is concentrated on the world's biggest game.
How have brands done this?
Here are some of the Australian-centric partnerships, campaigns and activations worth noticing.
SBS continues to score with strong audiences and a strong sponsor portfolio
In 2023, SBS secured the Australian broadcast rights to the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, outbidding Paramount-owned Network 10 and Optus Sport.
The deal ensured SBS maintained its unbroken FIFA World Cup broadcast record, having aired every tournament since 1986.
Ahead of the tournament, SBS:
Partnered with Droga5, Poem, Hearts & Science and Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed to launch the cheeky “SBS World Cup Watchers’ Rights Association” campaign which encouraged Australians to find creative ways to watch matches at work (two-thirds of matches are being played during Australian business hours)
Secured a strong portfolio of broadcast partners including Hyundai, Hisense, Macca’s, Rexona, bet365, Commonwealth Bank and Youi - Hisense unveiled the “Hisense Hangout” as part of its partnership
The broadcaster and its sponsors have already seen strong returns.
Despite the less-than-ideal time zones, more than 11.6 million Australians tuned into SBS’s coverage during the first nine days of the tournament, demonstrating the enduring appeal of football’s biggest event.
Football Australia entered the tournament with new commercial momentum
Football Australia used the lead-up to the tournament to strengthen its commercial portfolio through a series of new partnerships.
Recent additions included:
Coca-Cola as the Official Supplier of the CommBank Socceroos and CommBank Matildas
Bluestone Lane as the Official Coffee Partner of the CommBank Socceroos
M.J. Bale extending its long-standing partnership as Official Tailor of the CommBank Socceroos
EA SPORTS announcing the CommBank Socceroos’ return to EA SPORTS FC 26 and EA SPORTS FC Mobile after a 3-year absence
BEDGEAR joining as Official Sleep Supplier of Football Australia, the CommBank Socceroos and CommBank Matildas
These additions strengthened an already impressive commercial portfolio and provided partners.
Football Australia’s partners have embraced the occasion
Many of Football Australia’s partners have launched integrated campaigns across paid, owned and earned channels.
Some campaign examples worth noticing include:
Commonwealth Bank — “Belief is a Team Sport” and “Doubt Never Did”
Allianz Australia — “Care never gives up”
Bluestone Lane — “Raise a cup for the CommBank Socceroos”
Nike — “Mission to Wreck”
Qantas — “Football lives in all of us”
To celebrate its new partnership, Coca-Cola transformed its iconic Kings Cross billboard in Sydney into a green-and-gold tribute to the Socceroos.
Allianz Australia leveraged its partnership with Football Australia by launching a bespoke 3DOOH full motion ‘Care never gives up’ campaign on Melbourne’s Emporium digital large format screen, in partnership with QMS.
Meanwhile, Qantas welcomed the Socceroos to the United States with an event inside an LAX hangar.
At the same event, Bluestone Lane officially launched its new partnership and revealed plans to activate across its network of more than 65 cafés throughout the United States through co-branded cups, themed barista uniforms and prominent in-store signage.
Nike and Football Australia unveiled the Socceroos’ 2026 FIFA World Cup kit collection in March - the new kit collection was driven by a celebration of two decades on the world stage and a signal towards the future.
Peter Filopoulos, Former Chief Customer, Brand and Marketing Officer at Football Australia recently explained the rationale behind the design here.
Nike is also celebrating the Socceroos and the game via two upcoming events:
Merc: Unstoppable - A one-night takeover of Ultra Football Melbourne, bringing together players, creators, collectors and fans for an evening to celebrate the speed, style and culture that have made Mercurial one of football's most iconic boots
Merc Market - An event and curated space featuring local creators, collectors and independent labels, exclusive product drops and custom pieces
Limited-edition products continue to be a popular tactic
Major tournaments create urgency, collectability and cultural relevance, making them the perfect platform for limited-edition products.
Coca Cola launched limited edition cans (available exclusively at Coles) featuring four CommBank Socceroos – Nestory Irankunda, Mathew Ryan, Jordy Bos, and Cameron Burgess.
Powerade, Smith’s, Rexona and Coca-Cola have all rolled out specially marked FIFA World Cup products throughout the tournament.
McDonalds is offering limited-time FIFA World Cup 26™ Meals.
Every Large FIFA World Cup 26™ Meal comes with a free collectible cup with 6 different designs featuring either David Beckham, Ronaldinho Gaucho, Thierry Henry, Heung-Min Son and Lamine Yamal or Grimace.
Each Happy Meal includes one of 15 collectible Squishmallows plush, dressed in FIFA World Cup-inspired jerseys.
These products not only generate sales but also help bring the tournament into homes, workplaces and everyday consumer routines.
Brands are increasingly leveraging creators
As attention continues to fragment, creators have become an increasingly important part of the marketing mix.
Australian football creators Those Carter Boys have emerged as one of the most popular examples during the tournament, partnering with a suite of brands including:
Their involvement highlights how brands are increasingly using creators to translate sponsorships into content that feels more authentic, relatable and native to social platforms.
Live sites and fan experiences are bringing fans together
Not many fans can make it to North America, but brands are finding ways to recreate the atmosphere at home.
TAB partnered with Bastion and OMD to launch its national “The Cup at TAB” campaign, positioning TAB venues as destinations for Australians to gather and experience the tournament together.
The campaign spans TV, social media, retail, PR and experiential, with matchday experiences and venue-based events taking place throughout the tournament.
Above: Hickens Hotel goes wild for Metcalfe goal
Other notable branded live-site and fan-zone destinations include:
Meanwhile, adidas created a FIFA World Cup 2026 pop-up installation in Sydney's CBD, providing another touchpoint for fans throughout the competition.
A brand activation that captured attention
In the lead up to the start of the tournament Sportsbet unveiled the ‘Statue of Aloisi’, a 40-metre Statue of Liberty-style tribute to John Aloisi on Cockatoo Island, in partnership with TGI Wildcard.
The giant inflatable (one of the largest inflatables ever created) was a nod to the night John Aloisi’s penalty sent Australia back to the World Cup, a moment that captured the country’s underdog spirit, self-belief and arrival on the world stage.
The statue captured the attention of Sydneysiders on their Thursday morning commute, and carried one simple message: Believe. John Aloisi was joined by Mark Schwarzer and Alex Volkanovski at the official unveiling in front of media.
FIFA’s sponsorship protection strategy has backfired
There are countless creative soccer-themed brand activations that are worth noticing from across the globe, but one of the more interesting stories of the tournament has been FIFA’s sponsorship protection measures.
To create ‘commercially clean’ venues for official partners, host stadiums and facilities have been required to cover or remove branding from non-affiliated brands.
The result has been a wave of creative responses from brands that suddenly found themselves becoming part of the story.
After its logo was covered at a host venue, Levi’s playfully updated its social media profile picture to cover its own logo as well, turning a sponsorship restriction into a widely shared marketing moment.
The brand has continued to lean into the narrative through additional social content and campaign executions (e.g. covering up the logo’s on its retail stores) and it’s following on Instagram continues to grow.
Gillette (below) and Heinz (here) are also among the brands that have found creative ways to participate in the broader conversation.
Sometimes the simplest sponsorship executions work best
One of the most talked-about sponsorship executions of the tournament belongs to Rexona - The deodorant brand’s logo appears directly underneath the armpits of every referee’s shirt.
The logo is only visible during pivotal moments such as penalties, cards and substitutions, remaining hidden for most of the match. Yet that scarcity has become its strength, generating widespread attention, earned media and praise for being one of the tournament's most clever and on-brand sponsorship executions.
Final whistle
The FIFA World Cup has always been a sporting spectacle, but increasingly it is becoming a global marketing battleground.
What stands out from the examples above is the diversity of approaches. Some brands are investing in major advertising campaigns, others are creating limited-edition products, experiential activations, live sites, creator partnerships or memorable stunts designed to generate earned media and social conversation.
For Australian brands, the tournament continues to provide a rare opportunity to participate in a genuinely global cultural moment while connecting with local audiences through the CommBank Socceroos and the broader football community.
adidas - Director, Region Sales
adidas - Manager, Field Key Accounts
AFL - Consumer Insights Lead
Amer Sports - Graphic Designer & Production Coordinator
Amer Sports - Marketing Operations Manager
AusCycling - Community Development Coordinator
Australian Golf Services - Event Coordinator
Australian Golf Services - Senior Brand & Marketing Manager
Australian Turf Club - General Manager Partnerships
Australian Turf Club - Social Media Executive
Basketball Queensland - General Manager - Basketball Experience and Association Services
Bastion - Client Manager
Bastion - Head of Experiential (Mat Leave Cover)
Brand Collective - Head of Champion
Brisbane Broncos - General Manager – Retail & Merchandise
Bursty - Social Media Manager
Carlton FC - AFLW Content Producer
Carlton FC - Video Producer
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs - Partnerships Manager
Cairns Taipans - Graphic Designer
Capital Football - Infrastructure & Strategic Development Manager
Capital Football - Marketing & Partnerships Manager
Collingwood FC - Graphic Design Lead
Courtside Melbourne - Creative Manager
Cricket Australia - Senior Specialist, Government Relations
Cricket Victoria - Corporate Sales Specialist
Cricket Victoria - Head of Marketing, Brand and Digital
Dentsu Creative Public Relations - Social Content Manager - NFL
ESPN - Video Content Producer
Fanatics - eCommerce Specialist (AU/NZ)
Football Australia - Senior Partnerships Manager
Foxtel Group - Acting Head of Sports Communications
Foxtel Group - Senior Creative Strategist - DAZN
Future Golf - Head of Customer / Member Experience
Geelong Cats - Match Day Coordinator
Gemba - Account Director
Gemba - Social Strategist
Gold Coast SUNS - Digital Content Producer
Harry the Hirer - Account Manager - Events
Hoops Capital - Chief Consumer Officer
JD Sports - Senior Affiliates Manager
lululemon - Events Manager
MAAP - Creative Studio Manager
MEE Agency - Event Director
MEE Agency - Senior Event Producer
Melbourne City FC - Education Program Manager
Melbourne Racing Club - CRM Specialist
Netball NSW - Partnerships Executive
Netball World Cup Sydney 2027 - General Manager - Marketing & Communications
News Corp Australia - AFL Chief of Staff
News Corp Australia - Industry Lead Sport and Entertainment
Now We Collide - Senior Account Manager
Paramount Australia & New Zealand - Sydney Sport and Network Coordinator/ Producer
Parramatta Eels - Partnership Executive
Perth Bears - Partnerships Manager
PMY Group - Senior Consultant
Queensland Cricket - Event Coordinator
Queensland University of Technology - Senior Client Services Officer, Sport
Red Bull - Creator Marketing Specialist
Rugby League Players Association - Digital Content Producer
SailGP - APAC Communications Manager
SailGP - Marketing Manager, APAC
Sports Advisory Partners Australia - Commercial and Marketing Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - AFL Record Supervisor
Sports Entertainment Network - Commercial Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Event & Partnerships Manager
Sports Entertainment Network - Partnerships Manager - 12 month contract
St George Illawarra Dragons - Events Manager
Supercars - Commercial Sales Executive
Supercars - Marketing Executive
Sydney FC - Sky Blue Pathways - Education Coordinator
T20 World Cup - Head of Ticketing & Hospitality
Tasmania FC - Growth Marketing Manager
Tennis Australia - Event Lead
Tennis Australia - Marketing Partnerships Coordinator (China)
Tennis Australia - Product Operations Lead (Events)
The Sporting Globe - Marketing Coordinator
Twenty3 Sport + Entertainment - Account Manager - Events
Under Armour - Assistant Manager, Brand and Performance Marketing
Under Armour - Sr. Manager, Digital Sales
Venues NSW - Commercial Team Coordinator
Western Sydney Wanderers FC - Graphic Designer
World Surf League - Partnerships Manager
WPP Media - Sports & Entertainment Partnerships Manager
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