The 2026 World Cup Is a Behaviour Shift, Not a Moment
Author - Nate Hershenfeld
In just under 135 days, the curtain will rise on the 2026 FIFA World Cup across Mexico, the United States, and Canada. For fans, it will be a once-in-a-generation moment. For brands, it will be one of the most competitive sponsorship and experiential environments of the decade.
But many brands are already making a familiar mistake.
They are treating the World Cup as a moment.
It is not.
The 2026 World Cup is a behaviour shift. One that will reward long-term participation over short-term spectacle. Brands that show up late, loud, and transactional will feel it immediately. Fans always know when attention is being rented.
TL;DR: Sponsorship trends for 2026
The 2026 World Cup is a behaviour shift, not a 30-day campaign
Fans reward brands that participate early and consistently
Grassroots and local club ecosystems matter as much as national teams
Experiences outperform ads during the tournament due to fragmented attention
Post-tournament engagement is where real brand equity is built
Why treating the World Cup as a moment is a mistake
Mega-events create urgency. Budgets unlock. Everyone wants to “be there.”
But fans do not experience the World Cup as a campaign window. They experience it as identity, community, and memory. Soccer fandom is built through rituals and repetition, not one-off impressions.
When brands parachute in for a month of hype, it feels transactional. When they invest over time, it feels earned.
At T1, we see this line clearly. Visibility creates awareness. Participation creates trust. Trust is what drives long-term return on objectives.
What showing up before kickoff actually means
The work starts before the tournament.
In Canada, soccer is still in a building phase. The World Cup is an accelerant, not a finish line. Brands that understand this show up where fandom begins, not where it peaks.
That means:
Being present in grassroots and recreational spaces
Supporting local clubs, not just national teams
Engaging youth, parents, and casual fans entering the ecosystem
Becoming part of the on-ramp to fandom
Brands that invest early are remembered differently. They helped people arrive at the moment, not just celebrate it.
How brands should show up during the tournament
During the World Cup, attention fragments. Fans move between screens, spaces, and social moments. Emotion comes in bursts.
This is where experiential marketing outperforms traditional media.
What works:
Shared viewing environments that create collective emotion
Social rituals that invite participation, not passive watching
Public spaces that feel communal, not overly branded
What does not work is assuming you have undivided attention. You do not. Brands that understand this design experiences that fit into real fan behaviour, not idealized media plans.
Why the post-tournament phase matters most
Most brands disappear after the final whistle.
That is where the real opportunity begins.
After the World Cup, Canada will have new fans, new habits, and new expectations. The brands that stay present help turn moments into routines.
Post-tournament investment is where brand equity compounds:
Supporting leagues and community programs after the hype fades
Continuing experiences that reinforce new fan behaviours
Measuring success beyond impressions, using ROO
Fans remember who stayed. They remember who vanished.
The real question brands should be asking
The smartest brands are not asking, “How do we activate around the World Cup?”
They are asking, “What role do we want to play in the future of the sport?”
In an emerging market like Canada, brands do not just participate. They help define what soccer becomes.
At T1, our POV is simple. Community is not an audience. It is the strategy. Experiences are not tactics. They are the brand in action. Impact is not assumed. It is designed for, measured, and proven.
The 2026 World Cup is not the moment to show up.
It is the moment to decide how you will belong.