FIFA-Concacaf Boost ’26 Men’s Cup Marketing; EBU Builds ’23 Women’s Cup TV
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at 04:32PM By Barry Janoff
June 14, 2023: On the heels of unveiling the official brand and marketing — “We Are 26” — and other activation for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, to be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, FIFA has aligned with Concacaf to co-promote and market all major upcoming official Concacaf national team competitions together with the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Concurrently, FIFA and the European Broadcasting Union have agreed to extend their existing media rights partnership, “ensuring that the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 (July 20-Aug. 20) will be broadcast on the EBU’s free-to-air linear TV network across 34 European territories.”
The deal also makes a “substantial additional commitment to the regular transmission of women’s football content beyond the tournament.”
FIFA and Concacaf — the regional governing body of North America — said their “groundbreaking initiative” would provide brands and prospective partners with a “unique opportunity to truly impact the global game at a hugely important moment in its growth in North America and the entire Concacaf region over the next three years through compelling national team football tournaments."
FIFA global partners include adidas, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola, Hyundai-Kia, Unilever and Wanda Group.
The alliance was unveiled just prior to the first joint FIFA and Concacaf Upfront event, June 15 in Las Vegas during the Concacaf Nations League Finals.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be unique in terms of the impact it will have not only on the host countries, but also on the entire Concacaf region and the whole world,” Romy Gai, FIFA chief business officer, said via the organization. “Three countries, 16 cities, 48 teams and 104 matches will provide the biggest sporting platform yet, of a scale never seen before.
“This collaboration between FIFA and Concacaf will enrich the thrilling journey for North American fans, local communities and for football even further as we build towards the FIFA World Cup 2026, the greatest show on earth.”
Financial terms for the EBU pact were not disclosed.
However, Infantino last month said he had been rejecting broadcast rights offers for the 2023 Women’s World Cup as being only a fraction of the Men's World Cup rights fees “because we know that the viewing figures for these broadcasters in some big footballing countries for the Men’s World Cup or for the Women’s World Cup are actually very similar. . . .
“Should the offers continue not to be fair, we will be forced not to broadcast the FIFA Women’s World Cup into the 'Big 5' European countries — England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France.”
FIFA and EBU unveiled an initial deal this past October confirming that the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 would be broadcast free-to-air across 28 European territories, “but under this revised agreement, major European broadcast markets have been added, together with Ukraine.” (See the full list below).
“FIFA is delighted to widen the deal with the European Broadcasting Union for the transmission of the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup to include the five major markets within their existing networks, namely France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as Ukraine, thus ensuring maximum exposure for the tournament,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said via the organization.
The FIFA Partnerships and Media Division and Concacaf’s Commercial Department said they began working together in 2022 to develop a strategy to market unique joint commercial opportunities for Concacaf national competitions and the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Brands will be given the “opportunity to have a presence and integration at hundreds of elite national team matches involving the very best sides from across the region and the world.”
Included in the commercial opportunities that FIFA and Concacaf will be showcasing to global and regional brands are opportunities to partner the with Concacaf W Gold Cup (February-March 2024), Concacaf Nations League Finals (2023-24 and 2024-25), Concacaf Gold Cup (2023 and 2025) and the FIFA Men’s World Cup 2026.
“Over the next three years, Concacaf will deliver a compelling range of men’s and women’s international competitions and an entirely new club ecosystem, both of which will showcase the very best of football from across our wonderful region,” Heidi Pellerano, Concacaf chief commercial officer, said via the organization.
“We have Nations Leagues, Gold Cups, the new Champions Cup and more, and this presents a tremendous opportunity for brands and potential sponsors to be part of a series of major football events in the region ahead of the biggest World Cup ever in 2026.”
The 23rd edition of the FIFA Men's World Cup is scheduled to begin Sunday, May 31, 2026 and conclude with the World Cup final on Sunday, July 19, 2026.
The 16 Host Cities each unveiled their individual brands developed by FIFA for the expanded 48-team FIFA World Cup. Each city will have activation and marketing under individual tags, such as "We Are San Francisco 26," “We Are Dallas 26” and “We Are Atlanta 26.”
According to Infantino via FIFA, “These unique city identities embody the fun and fantastic people and places that will offer fans an experience like no other in 2026.
Cities in the U.S. are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City (MO), Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.
In Mexico, games will be in Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City.
Vancouver and Toronto will host matches in Canada.
The host city for the ’26 World Cup final has not yet been named, but is expected to be selected by FIFA from among New York/New Jersey (MetLife Stadium), Dallas (AT&T Stadium) and Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium).
The 2023 Women’s World Cup will air in the U.S. on Fox (English language) and NBCUniversal Telemundo (Hispanic).
List of territories in which EBU Members will broadcast the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023: Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland (Republic of), Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
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