World Cup
World Cup 2030 an opportunity for sponsors to build reach, say experts
Holding the 2030 World Cup in six countries could cause logistical headaches but a tournament on three continents will be viewed as a boon by sponsors and advertisers seeking to expand their brands globally, sports marketing experts have said.
FIFA allocated the 2030 World Cup to Spain, Portugal and Morocco last week but also said Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay would host three matches to mark the tournament’s centenary.
“It’s going to be a mess for the players and for anyone who wants to attend games,” Bob Dorfman, a sports marketing expert and creative director at Pinnacle Advertising, told Reuters.
“But for advertisers, it may be an opportunity because they now have three continents in which they can build their market. Most of the sponsors are global brands, so they’re looking to build markets around the world.
“It’s also great for newer advertisers, who may be a little more regional and looking to expand. South American companies may just want to focus on those three games in their region, but they may also want to build a brand in North Africa or Europe.”
Victor Matheson, sports economist at College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, said the 2030 World Cup proposal was “extremely well done” on FIFA’s part.
“It’s hard to find anything to criticise about this particular event,” Matheson said.
“I would suspect the sponsors are definitely looking forward to this a lot more than they were looking forward to Qatar.”
The decision to award Qatar hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup was marred by controversy, including allegations of corruption and human rights violations.
BEER BACK ON TAP
The World Cup in Qatar also had to contend with strict controls on alcohol. Two days before the tournament kicked off, Budweiser, the official beer of the World Cup, had taps at stadiums turned off by Qatari officials.
“Budweiser were not at all happy with a world where they couldn’t actually sell their primary product in the host country, and that being a last minute decision,” he said, adding that Spain, Portugal and Morocco are “super safe choices”.
“I think all these sponsors have a lot more history and a lot more comfort with Spain and Portugal where they don’t need to do a whole lot to promote it.
“All major sponsors are much happier with countries that they’re more comfortable associating with… Spain and Portugal have very good reputations. Morocco is a little bit more unknown, but it certainly doesn’t have a negative reputation.”
Like Qatar, Morocco is an Arab nation with a majority Muslim population.
But it is considered one of the most liberal countries in North Africa and has often hosted international cinema and music festivals as well as sports events.
Morocco were named hosts of the 2025 African Cup of Nations last month and they also want to host the 2030 final in Casablanca.
‘MORE LENIENT’
Morocco’s tourism revenue is expected to reach a record 115 billion dirhams ($11.24 billion) in 2023, exceeding pre-COVID levels, according to central bank expectations.
“Morocco is more lenient when it comes to accommodating Western lifestyles than Qatar,” said Vijay Setlur, a sports marketing expert with Schulich School of Business.
“I don’t expect the restrictions to be as stringent in Morocco.
“One of the reasons Qatar received criticism was the conditions of workers who built stadiums, but in Morocco there won’t be stadium-building projects on the same scale. Morocco will probably be refurbishing existing stadiums.”
The decision to host the tournament across three continents also attracted criticism from climate experts, but Dorfman said the scale of the World Cup would take precedence for sponsors over political or climate issues.
“Like it or not, that’s what ends up happening and everyone in the end remembers how great Lionel Messi was and how Argentina won the World Cup,” he said.
-Reuters
Veteran Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa has hinted that the upcoming FIFA World Cup could mark the final chapter of his illustrious international career after announcing that he has joined what he described as his “last training camp” with the national team.
The 40-year-old shot stopper is widely expected to be named in coach Javier Aguirre’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which Mexico will co-host alongside the United States and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
In an emotional message posted on social media on Monday, Ochoa reflected on his long journey with the Mexican national team.
“Putting this shirt on again was never routine … it was a privilege,” he wrote. “Today begins my last training camp. But this time I see it differently. With a fuller heart, more scars, more memories, and the same excitement as the child who once dreamed of defending this badge.”
If selected, Ochoa will join an exclusive group of players to feature in six FIFA World Cups, alongside football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The experienced goalkeeper previously represented Mexico at the Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 World Cups.
Ochoa, who currently plays for AEL Limassol in Cyprus, also recently suggested that the tournament could signal the end of his professional career.
Speaking to Mexican broadcaster TUDN last month, he admitted that the World Cup “could be the end for me after the World Cup” as he prepares for what is expected to be his final season in football.
“I’ve experienced unforgettable nights, endless matches, anthems that still give me goosebumps, and moments that changed my life forever,” Ochoa added in his social media post.
“And still, every time Mexico calls, something inside me begins again.”
Widely regarded as one of Mexico’s greatest goalkeepers, Ochoa has earned more than 150 international caps and produced several memorable World Cup performances during his career.
Among his standout moments were a remarkable display against Brazil at the 2014 World Cup and his penalty save from Poland captain Robert Lewandowski during the Qatar 2022 tournament.
Mexico will continue their preparations for the World Cup with friendly matches against Ghana on May 22, Australia on May 30 and Serbia on June 4 before opening their Group A campaign against South Africa on June 11.
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Mexico’s education authorities agreed on Monday to keep the 2025-2026 school calendar unchanged, reversing a proposed early end to the academic year that had drawn criticism from parents and raised questions about disruptions linked to the World Cup.
Related Story: https://sportsvillagesquare.com/2026/05/09/mexico-president-wavers-on-plan-to-cut-school-year-by-40-days-for-the-world-cup/
The federal education ministry and state authorities unanimously agreed to preserve the existing 185-day school calendar, Education Minister Mario Delgado said, meaning the school year will still end on July 15 as originally scheduled.
Delgado said the agreement came in response to a call from President Claudia Sheinbaum, while also giving certainty to millions of Mexican families that organise their daily routines around the school calendar.
Authorities said states could still make local adjustments in extraordinary circumstances, including extreme heat or logistical challenges related to the World Cup.
Delgado had previously floated ending the school year on June 5 instead of July 15, citing high temperatures and the need to ease pressure in host cities during the tournament, which Mexico will co-host with the United States and Canada.
-Reuters
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Thousands of people, led by mothers of those who have disappeared during decades of drug violence, marched in Mexico’s capital on Sunday, protesting the violence and impunity plaguing the country as it prepares to co-host the FIFA World Cup.
Collectives of mothers of the missing, who march every Mother’s Day, called on soccer fans to join them, saying in a statement that “there is nothing to celebrate, because the mothers of Mexico are playing the most difficult match: the one for justice.”
“Mexico, champion in disappearances,” protesters chanted as they marched down Paseo de la Reforma, the signature boulevard in Mexico City, holding banners and signs emblazoned with pictures of missing people. They passed a roundabout surrounded by metal barriers that are permanently covered with pictures of the disappeared.
“We had to start fighting, because no one wanted to take charge of the disappearance (case),” said Graciela Perez Rodriguez, whose daughter and four other relatives disappeared in 2012 in the northern state of Tamaulipas as they travelled on a highway after a trip to the U.S.
Mexico has more than 130,000 missing people, with disappearances surging after 2006, when the country launched its war on drug cartels.
Police and other government officials are often implicated in the crimes. Mothers who search for their missing children themselves when authorities fail to act are sometimes also targeted by criminal groups and killed.
In March, Mexican authorities said they had potentially identified more than 40,000 people listed as disappeared who may be alive, after a review of the national registry of missing persons showed some activity across other government records.
But the public policy group Mexico Evalua found there has been a 200% increase in disappearances over the last decade, due to the growing power of organised crime groups.
Rodriguez said she worries that the case of her missing family members is no longer a priority since almost 14 years have passed.
-Reuters
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