Since it was announced in 2022, the new FIFA Club World Cup has faced questions about its viability, relevance, and place in the international football calendar.
With this move into club football, FIFA aims to establish the tournament as its second most lucrative competition, behind only the Men’s World Cup.
In truth, FIFA delivered a solid commercial product, considering that both the broadcast platform and host cities were only confirmed at the end of 2024.
By that time, most companies — particularly multinationals — have already set their budgets, making it difficult to evaluate sponsorship proposals for a tournament of this scale.
According to SportsPro, FIFA aimed to generate USD 4 billion from broadcasting rights, but ultimately signed an exclusive global deal with DAZN for USD 1 billion, which allowed for sublicensing in local markets.
For the world’s largest sports streaming platform, broadcasting the tournament for free is a strategic move to attract new users, who may later transition to paid plans. For FIFA, it’s a key channel to drive visibility and interest in the new competition.
Had FIFA opted for a paywall-only deal — like it could be with AppleTV — the return for sponsors and accessibility for fans would likely have been limited. Ensuring broad reach is strategic in FIFA’s mission to make football truly global.
On the sponsorship side, FIFA set an ambitious goal: to secure 10 sponsors, each investing USD 100 million. These are higher figures than what most brands spend on established properties like the NFL or NBA.
In October and November 2024, FIFA announced Chinese electronics brand Hisense and Anheuser-Busch InBev as the official beer, activating Budweiser and Michelob Ultra.
Following this, existing FIFA partners such as Bank of America, Lenovo, Qatar Airways, and Visa also came on board. According to The Athletic, some of these sponsors negotiated small add-ons to their existing contracts.
FIFA also resolved legal disputes with long-standing partners such as Coca-Cola and Adidas, who appealed to their contracts to ensure participation in the new tournament — citing their rights to presence “at the World Cup and other FIFA events.”
Among the newcomers, Airbnb signed a multi-tournament sponsorship deal with FIFA, covering the Club World Cup as well as the 2026 Men’s and 2027 Women’s World Cups.
The Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia (PIF), an investor in DAZN, also joined as a sponsor. The sovereign wealth fund signed a long-term agreement with FIFA, and Saudi Arabia is set to host the 2034 World Cup.
The new tournament offers global exposure to multinationals aiming to reach large audiences — both die-hard fans and casual viewers — without supporting a specific club or country.
Hisense’s VP of Marketing shared on LinkedIn how the brand will use this global platform to drive local impact through the image of key players in each market. An example of marketing efficiency at scale.
Given the short timeframe and early uncertainty, FIFA succeeded in assembling a commercial package that many well-established events would envy.
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