World Cup 2026: the new battle of brands for consumer attention, how much is invested in advertising in the football festival?

FIFA projects an audience of over 5 billion people and will distribute more than US$655 million in prizes among the participating teams. However, the real business is played off the field.

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The most intense competition will not necessarily be for the trophy, but for capturing consumers’ attention in an environment where television shares the spotlight with TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and streaming platforms.

“The World Cup is one of the last mass attention phenomena left on the planet today. Social media has fragmented audiences, but it remains one of the few moments where billions of people consume the same content at the same time,” said Eduardo Flores, director of the Sport Marketing Toque Fino agency and vice president of the Peruvian Sports Marketing Association (APEMD).

FIFA estimates that during a World Cup, up to 5 billion people can be reached, generating billions of digital interactions. In Qatar 2022 alone, the organization’s official platforms registered a growth of nearly 500% in interactions, while the tournament’s cumulative reach reached 262 billion views on social media.

More commercial than ever

For Nathaly Montoya, director of the Sports Administration and Business program at UPC, the combination of the new format and the North American host cities marks a turning point for the industry.

“This is, with data in hand, the most commercial edition in history. The tournament expands to 48 teams, 104 matches, and 16 host cities. More matches mean more advertising inventory, more activations, and more exposure windows for brands,” she explained.

The specialist added that the United States, Mexico, and Canada bring together three of the most developed advertising markets in the world, which has boosted the interest of global sponsors even before the start of the championship.

The sponsorship model is also changing. If a decade ago many companies participated mainly for brand exposure, today the pressure to demonstrate return is much greater.

“Before, brand awareness was prioritized. Now advertisers demand concrete metrics for conversion, sales, and new customer generation. Sponsorship has ceased to be an image expense and has become a business investment,” Flores stated.

Montoya agreed, adding that “brands no longer invest for simple visibility, but for measurable return. The World Cup provides an emotional context of identity and passion that multiplies that value.”

In countries like Argentina, where the Argentine Football Association (AFA) maintains agreements with companies such as Coca-Cola, YPF, McDonald’s, and Sancor Seguros, commercial revenues linked to the national team would exceed US$80 million annually, according to market estimates cited by Valora Analitik.

The attention economy

The rise of social media is also redefining where budgets are invested. “Television remains fundamental for generating reach, but social media is where the conversation happens,” Flores noted.

According to the specialist, there has been an evident shift since Russia 2018: ex-footballers have lost prominence to influencers and content creators capable of documenting the World Cup experience in real time.

“Brands want creators who can tell what it was like from the moment they left the airport, which players they met, or how they experienced the event. It’s a great opportunity for influencers,” he stated.

Montoya added that the winning strategy no longer pits television against digital platforms, but integrates both worlds. “The World Cup is one of the few events that reactivates television due to its ability to gather massive live audiences. The most effective formula combines television for reach and digital platforms for conversation,” she maintained.

Messi, Mbappé, and the new generation of global assets

Footballers are also a fundamental part of this economy. Brands seek a combination of athletic performance, digital reach, and the ability to generate conversation. “Performance generates credibility, while digital reach amplifies the message,” Flores explained.

According to the specialist, among the figures with the greatest commercial appeal heading into 2026 are Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, Vinícius Júnior, and Erling Haaland, all with a strong connection to young audiences.

Montoya added that companies continue to value established figures like Lionel Messi and Neymar, even when their athletic performance is no longer at the peak of their careers.

“Brands no longer buy just performance. They buy digital reach and emotional connection. That’s why Neymar remains one of football’s most powerful personal brands,” she noted.

What about Peruvian brands?

Although Peru will not be present in the tournament, specialists agree that the event will continue to boost local advertising investment. The sectors with the greatest opportunities would be beverages, telecommunications, sports betting, retail, technology, and mass consumption.

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“Peruvian brands don’t need to compete on budget, but on relevance. We have a huge advantage over global giants: we know the Peruvian consumer better,” Flores stated.

For Ximena Vega Amat y León, CEO of Claridad, creativity will remain the main local asset. “Peruvian brands win through context and emotional connection. Creativity remains the great equalizer against large budgets,” she maintained.

The executive considered that, although Peru’s absence limits commercial enthusiasm compared to Russia 2018, the World Cup will continue to generate opportunities for companies capable of connect cwith collective emotion.

From Lego to Coca-Cola: the campaigns already winning the World Cup

Although weeks remain until the start of the tournament, several brands have already begun to dispute their own championship in the advertising arena. One of the campaigns that has generated the most conversation is that of Lego, which brought together four of the biggest figures in world football: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, and Vinícius Jr.

According to the Spanish newspaper AS, the commercial, launched 70 days before the start of the tournament, quickly became one of the most commented contents of the year. The campaign is part of a collection of figures inspired by iconic football moments and seeks to connect with different generations of fans: Messi and Cristiano represent the legacy, while Mbappé and Vinícius symbolize the present and future of the sport.

For Nathaly Montoya, from UPC, the success of this campaign lies in going beyond football. “The best executed and trend-setting campaign is Lego’s. What makes it stand out is that it didn’t sell football, but belonging. The final twist shifts the spotlight from the stars to the consumer. It brought together four generations of fans in less than a minute and organically extended the conversation on social media,” she noted.

Other brands have also started to make their moves. Coca-Cola launched “Bubbling Up,” the first of three commercials planned for the World Cup, while its Korean subsidiary chose V, a member of BTS, as the protagonist of the “Feel It All” campaign, a bet that seeks to connect football with the universe of entertainment and pop culture.

McDonald’s, Budweiser, Lay’s, Stella Artois, Rexona, and Bimbo have also activated campaigns with figures such as David Beckham, Erling Haaland, Jürgen Klopp, and Rafael Márquez, demonstrating that the battle for consumer attention began long before the initial whistle.

Vega Amat y León, from Claridad, believes that the integration of celebrities responds to a natural evolution of the event. “Football remains the heart of the celebration, but it’s a celebration accompanied by music, influencers, food, and celebrities. It’s not that football isn’t enough; it’s so big that it needs to be surrounded by other elements to complete the experience,” she stated.

An emblematic case is the recent Quilmes spot in Argentina, “CoRazones para creer”, which brings together figures such as Manu Ginóbili, Charly García, Ángel Di María, and Leandro Paredes to build a narrative about Argentine identity. The campaign bets on emotion and national pride rather than the product, a trend that specialists consider increasingly relevant in sports advertising.

Neymar: the footballer who earned US$6 million in less than an hour

If brands compete for attention, the most popular players remain some of the most valuable advertising assets on the planet. And Neymar has just proven it.

After being called up again by Brazil for the 2026 World Cup, the forward generated nearly US$6 million in commercial agreements in less than an hour, according to Brazilian journalist Jorge Nicola. Brands like Puma and Red Bull activated campaigns almost immediately after the official call-up was announced.

The impact was not limited to the commercial sphere. Neymar also gained over 1.1 million new followers in Instagram in just a few hours, solidifying his position as one of the most influential athletes in the world.

For Eduardo Flores, director of Sport Marketing Toque Fino and vice president of the Peruvian Sports Marketing Association (APEMD), this phenomenon reflects how the logic of sports sponsorship has changed. “Brands buy a combination of both: athletic performance and digital reach. Performance generates credibility, while digital reach amplifies the message,” he stated.

Montoya highlighted that the Neymar case demonstrates that the value of a sports figure no longer depends exclusively on what happens on the field. “Brands no longer buy just performance. They buy digital reach and emotional connection. That’s why Neymar remains one of football’s most powerful personal brands, even when he is no longer at the peak of his athletic career,” she explained.

Vega Amat y León also highlights the symbolic weight that certain stars retain. “This is probably the last World Cup for Messi and Neymar. I cannot envision a World Cup without them. The impact of Neymar’s call-up demonstrates the weight he continues to carry as a global figure,” she noted.

The transformation of the World Cup into an integral entertainment platform also explains why more and more musicians, influencers, and celebrities appear in campaigns. “Football remains the emotional heart of the campaign; the surrounding culture is what multiplies its reach,” Montoya summarizes.

While Flores goes further. “This World Cup will be much more than a football tournament. It will be a global platform for business, technology, entertainment, and brand building,” he explained.

He also added that in an economy where attention is one of the scarcest resources, the 2026 World Cup appears as the perfect scenario for companies to compete for something more valuable than a cup: the preference of billions of consumers.

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