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
With just a year to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the United States, concerns are mounting over the impact of extreme summer heat on players and fans.
According to experts interviewed by the BBC, FIFA may be forced to adjust match schedules drastically—possibly even staging the World Cup final as early as 9 a.m.—to mitigate the risks posed by soaring temperatures.
The warnings follow sweltering conditions witnessed during recent international and Club World Cup matches held in the U.S., where athletes and spectators alike were exposed to intense heat and humidity.
One of the leading voices raising the alarm is Professor Mike Tipton, an expert in thermal physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Speaking to BBC Sport, he emphasised the potential health risks of playing in extreme conditions and recommended that matches begin as early in the day as possible.
“From a thermo-physiological point of view, for health and performance reasons, I would look to start matches as early as possible,” Tipton stated, suggesting that even the final—traditionally held in the afternoon or evening—could be moved to a morning kickoff.
Tipton went further, noting that the ideal solution would be to host the tournament during a cooler time of year, as was done with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was shifted to November and December due to extreme heat.
However, with the 2026 tournament already locked in for June 11 to July 19, FIFA’s only remaining flexibility lies in scheduling match times.
The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico across multiple cities, some of which are known for intense summer heat.
Health experts are urging organisers to prioritise player safety and fan well-being, warning that failing to act could lead to performance issues, heat-related illnesses, or worse.
FIFA has yet to publicly comment on any proposed changes to match schedules, but as temperatures continue to rise, pressure is mounting for the governing body to take decisive action ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
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FIFA’s Global Football Development chief Arsene Wenger acknowledged that the quality of pitches hosting Club World Cup matches in the U.S. was not good enough, but insisted it would be better when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
The pitches, often very dry and sprinkled with water during cooling breaks or at halftime, have been widely criticised, mainly by coaches and players of the European teams taking part.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” former Arsenal manager Wenger said on Saturday. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique raised the issue early in the expanded Club World Cup tournament.
“The ball bounces like a rabbit,” Luis Enrique said after his team’s opening 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
“Today, for example, the field used to be artificial turf, and now it’s natural grass laid over it, which means it has to be watered manually. It’s a big problem for the way we play.”
“FIFA really needs to take this seriously. Not just the stadium fields but also the training pitches. If we’re calling this the best club tournament in the world, it should have world‑class facilities. I can’t imagine an NBA game played on a court full of holes.”
-Reuters
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Congo will be allowed to continue participating in the World Cup qualifiers despite missing two fixtures in March when they were banned, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
Congo were suspended from February to May because of government interference in the running of their football association (FECOFOOT) but the ban was lifted when officials returned to their positions and were handed back access to their headquarters and technical training centre.
Sports minister Hugues Ngouelondele had appointed an ad-hoc committee last year to run the association, claiming it needed to sort out disputes among association office bearers, but FIFA suspended FECOFOOT due to third-party interference, which violates its statutes.
During the ban, Congo were not allowed to participate in any international competition, which meant they did not honour 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Niger in March.
A FIFA spokesman told Reuters the points from those fixtures were forfeited and a 3-0 victory awarded to their opponents.
But they will continue in the qualifiers when they resume in September, even if they have no chance of qualifying.
Congo are scheduled to play Tanzania at home in September and conclude their fixtures in October with matches at Niger and Morocco.
Congo have no points in the group, which Morocco lead with 15 points, six more than Tanzania in second place.
The group winner qualifies for next year’s World Cup in North America while the runner-up has a possibility to participate in playoffs if they are among the four best second-placed teams in the nine African qualifying groups.
FIFA has taken a hard line on government interference in football matters with the likes of Chad, Kenya, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among those banned in recent years.
Congo were African champions in 1972 but have never been to a World Cup.
-Reuters
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