LONDON—The 2026 Men’s World Cup is set to generate the highest sponsorship revenue in the competition’s history, with combined media rights and sponsorship revenues expected to exceed $6bn, according to the latest estimates from Ampere Analysis.
THe expanded 48-team tournament, hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico, is creating significant opportunities for brands to promote themselves at the 2026 event. Ampere estimates media rights revenues will reach at least $3.8bn, while sponsorship revenues are expected to generate $2.4bn.
The U.S.’s role as a host nation has become a major driver of commercial growth for the tournament, according to Ampere. The value of media rights in the US has risen by 94% compared with the 2022 Men’s World Cup, while U.S.-headquartered brands now account for more than half of all sponsorship revenue associated with the event.
“This edition of the FIFA Men’s World Cup is attracting record levels of sponsorship investment due to the increase in participating teams and the expanded number of matches, said Chloe Ng-Triquet, Analyst, Sponsorship at Ampere Analysis. “Hailed as the ’biggest’ Men’s World Cup ever, brands have identified every opportunity to capitalise on innovative activations. With the additional hydration breaks during each game’s quarter, brands have more space to advertise. Despite no major sponsors for the events headquartered in Canada or Mexico, the US houses some of the biggest brands globally, helping drive the sponsorship revenue to an all-time high.”
Ampere currently estimates media rights revenues for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup at $3.8 billion, up 22% on the 2022 tournament, with some deals still to be agreed for markets in Asia. The value of media rights in the US has risen by 94% compared with 2022, driven by the US’s role as a host nation.While linear broadcasters remain the dominant rights buyers for the tournament, some streamers have stepped up their investment in the competition. In particular, DAZN will be streaming the Men’s World Cup in three major markets, Japan, Italy and Spain.
Ampere expects sponsorship revenues to reach at least $2.4 billion, a 37% increase on the previous Men’s World Cup. Sponsorship spend is being driven by new entrants to the event, including DoorDash, Bank of America, and ADI Predict Street, as well as brands historically associated with the event, such as Adidas, Coca-Cola, and Visa. US-headquartered brands account for 52% of sponsorship revenue, up from 36% in 2022. As yet, there are no sponsors with headquarters in Canada or Mexico.
“While we estimate that FIFA is currently under its target for media rights revenue for this Men’s World Cup, deals have yet to be confirmed for some markets in Asia,” said Danni Moore, Senior Analyst, Sports Media Rights, Ampere Analysis. “However, even without those agreements in place, the 2026 edition of the tournament is generating the highest media rights values FIFA has achieved to date as a result of growth across several markets. As the country with the highest investment in sports rights globally, the growth in the US market, driven by its role as one of the host nations, has had a considerable impact on the overall value of the 2026 event.”
