The Ultimate Influencer On What We Eat, Wear And Where We Travel?

MUNICH, GERMANY – JULY 09: A detailed view of a bag of popcorn seen on the pitch after the final whistle in the UEFA EURO 2024 Semi-Final match between Spain and France at Munich Football Arena on July 09, 2024 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

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Every four years, the FIFA World Cup transforms from a football tournament into something much larger: a global consumer event capable of reshaping what people eat, drink, wear and even the destinations they choose to take as their next trip.

For brands, the tournament is no longer just about visibility on the sidelines. It is about capturing attention during one of the few remaining moments when billions of consumers are emotionally engaged with the same event at the same time.

The scale of that influence is enormous. The 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France became the most-watched men’s soccer match in U.S. history. According to Nielsen, American audiences spent nearly 80 billion minutes watching soccer on television in 2025 alone. Looking ahead to the 2026 FIFA World Cup hosted across the United States, Mexico and Canada, Nielsen data shows that 33% of Americans expect their interest in soccer to increase over the next 18 months.

Food and beverage companies, in particular, are preparing for one of the biggest consumer moments of the decade.

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, NielsenIQ reported major increases in global purchases of beer, soft drinks, frozen foods, chips and ready-to-eat meals as millions of viewers shifted toward at-home match viewing. Football finals consistently rank among the busiest days globally for food-delivery apps and grocery platforms, turning major matches into economic events for restaurants, supermarkets and delivery services alike.

For restaurant chains, bars and hospitality groups, the 2026 tournament represents a rare opportunity to drive weeks of sustained consumer traffic. Brands are already preparing World Cup-themed menus, limited-edition packaging, athlete partnerships and social-media campaigns designed to convert football fandom into spending.

Lay’s is the official snack partner of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and to capture the cultural and gastronomic identities of the global fans of the sport. With 40 different flavors that are inspired by the iconic global culinary flavors like Argentinian style steak with Chimichurri, and Brazilian style garlic sauce. Social media campaigns for the product include big names in soccer and hollywood like David Beckham, Leo Messi and Steve Carell showing who wins the chance at accessing a match-day experience and pitch side access.

The tourism and hospitality industries are also expected to benefit from the tournament’s global reach. A recent report from the World Economic Forum identified accommodation, food, leisure, entertainment and sports as among the fastest-growing sectors expected to drive global economic growth over the next five years. North America is forecast to lead much of that expansion, particularly in entertainment and sports.

That makes growing concerns around U.S. World Cup tourism particularly notable.

With less than two months until kickoff, many cities had expected the tournament to deliver a major tourism windfall following last year’s FIFA Club World Cup. But according to the Financial Times, some host cities are now seeing weaker-than-expected travel demand.

A data point that analysts have said is caused by a combination of high ticket prices, inflation concerns and the current political situation discouraging international visitors to the United States that has been dubbed the “Trump slump”. Hotel prices in host cities including Atlanta and San Francisco have reportedly fallen by roughly a third amid softer demand forecasts.

Still, industry experts believe the broader economic impact of the tournament may ultimately come less from stadium attendance and more from global consumer participation.

Last December, FIFA president Gianni Infantino described the tournament as “the greatest event that humanity has ever seen.” Financially, it is also expected to become one of the most lucrative sporting competitions in history. FIFA recently confirmed that prize money and financial resources distributed among the 48 participating teams would increase by 15%, totaling $871 million.

Even local political efforts around affordability have become part of the wider media spectacle. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani recently announced that 1,000 tickets priced at $50 would be made available to local residents through a lottery system for matches at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, excluding the final.

Rather than easing concerns over affordability, the announcement may have further reinforced the perception that the World Cup is becoming one of the hottest, and hardest to access, entertainment events in the world.

Today watching the game no longer means watching in person and the commercial impact of the matches go beyond the stadium. Today streaming games from home, ordering takeout with friends or buying limited-edition merchandise online, brands understand the same reality: the World Cup is no longer simply a sporting event. It is one of the most powerful consumer influence engines on the planet.