Following are the companies and organisations sponsoring the 2022 Qatar World Cup, enjoying a strong branding presence across the tournament’s physical and digital assets.
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The German sportswear giant’s partnership with the governing body of world football dates back more than five decades. Partners since 1970, Adidas has been the Official Match Ball supplier for the FIFA World Cup since that year and has also provided uniforms for all FIFA officials, referees, player escorts, ball crew and volunteers for all FIFA-affiliated events, which Adidas also sponsors.
The last extension of this historic deal between the two parties was announced in November 2013, with the agreement granting Adidas Official Partner, Supplier and Licensee rights for all FIFA events until 2030.
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The Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered American beverage giant has maintained a FIFA World Cup presence since 1950. In 1974, it began a formal association with the football governing body, and in 1978, it became an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup.
Since 2006, The Coca-Cola Company has “exclusively activated the FIFA World Cup Trophy Tour”. In collaboration with The Panini Group, the Modena-based Italian publishing company known for producing football collectibles, Coca-Cola releases digital and physical stickers for FIFA World Cup tournaments. Coca-Cola also sponsors the FIFA World Rankings for both the men’s and the women’s national teams.
FIFA’s current deal with The Coca-Cola Company runs until 2030 and covers all FIFA-affiliated tournaments.
In March 2021, in light of the controversy surrounding the exploitation and maltreatment of workers in Qatar, The Coca-Cola Company issued a statement, which stated that the company believed that the collaboration between FIFA and Qatar’s Supreme Committee (organiser of the 2022 men’s World Cup) would be a fruitful one and bring about positive changes regarding the workers’ situation in the country.
The Beijing-headquartered Chinese conglomerate was announced as the first-ever Chinese company to partner with FIFA in March 2016, when it obtained FIFA’s highest level of sponsorship rights to cover all FIFA-affiliated tournaments and corporate activities until the end of the 2030 men’s FIFA World Cup.
Both Hyundai Motors and Kia are automotive manufacturers and subsidiaries of Seoul-headquartered South Korean chaebol (family-owned business conglomerate) Hyundai Motor Group.
Hyundai’s association with FIFA first began in 1999, when it was announced as a sponsor of thirteen FIFA tournaments, including the 2002 men’s World Cup that was held across South Korea and Japan. Kia entered the fold around the 2006 men’s World Cup, after an extended agreement was signed between FIFA and the Hyundai Motor Group. A second term followed from 2007 to 2014, with Hyundai serving as one of six FIFA Partners.
The last extension of the partnership between the two parties was announced in November 2010, when the deal for the Hyundai Motor Group to continue as a top-tier FIFA Partner was extended to cover all FIFA tournaments—both men’s and women’s—until the end of the 2022 men’s World Cup.
Hyundai has been serving FIFA as its official ground transportation provider for the World Cups since the 2006 Germany World Cup, supplying its fleet of vehicles to carry personnel ranging from high-ranking FIFA officials to media staff throughout the course of the tournament.
The Doha-headquartered flag carrier airline of Qatar has been an Official Partner and the Official Airline of FIFA since May 2017. The current deal between the two parties sees Qatar Airways sponsor all FIFA tournaments until the end of the 2022 men’s World Cup.
In late March 2022, Qatar Airways announced via a statement that its senior management would attend the Final Draw of the 2022 World Cup, which was held on April 1, 2022.
On April 2, 2022, after the 2022 World Cup draw was finalised, Qatar Airways announced via a press release its official travel packages for the people interested in attending the quadrennial footballing extravaganza.
The Doha-headquartered state-owned petroleum company first partnered with FIFA for the 2021 Arab Cup in December 2021. Later, in March 2022, the company was announced as a FIFA Partner in a deal set to cover the 2022 men’s World Cup and run until the end of 2022.
The San Francisco-headquartered American financial services provider has been a global sponsor of FIFA and its Official Payment Technology Partner since 2007. VISA offers exclusive payment service for all FIFA-affiliated stores and events and also works with the governing body to create co-branded unique programmes for the fans.
Wellington-headquartered New Zealander small-business management platform Xero was announced as a FIFA Women’s Football Partner in April 2022 in a deal set to commence in 2023 under the governing body’s new commercial partnership structure.
Hoping to “champion women’s football and to further empower women working in small businesses and their communities around the world”, Xero’s partnership with FIFA is set to cover the following tournaments: the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2024 and 2026 editions of the FIFA U20 and U17 Women’s World Cups. It is also set to cover the following FIFA women’s football development programmes: Capacity-Building for Administrators and Coach Education Scholarships.
Promoting itself as a “green blockchain technology company”, Algorand was announced as FIFA’s official blockchain platform in May 2022.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails Algorand providing FIFA official blockchain-supported wallet solutions while also working with the governing body over developing its digital assets strategy. The deal also makes Algorand a Regional Supporter of the Qatar World Cup in North America and Europe as well as an Official Sponsor of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Calm, a San Francisco-based company offering meditation, relaxation and sleep solutions, partnered with FIFA in November 2022 to make its online platform the Official Mindfulness and Meditation Product of the FIFA World Cup 2022, the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 and the FIFAe Nations Cup 2023.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails Calm subscriptions being offered to players, workers and volunteers at the aforementioned FIFA tournaments for free, with fans also being offered heavily discounted subscriptions.
The Anheuser-Busch InBev-brewed beer brand has been the official beer sponsor of the men’s FIFA World Cup for over 35 years now, with the 2022 event set to be its tenth World Cup.
The last renewal between the two parties was announced in October 2011, with Budweiser remaining as a global FIFA sponsor for the 2018 and 2022 men’s World Cups.
Apart from pouring rights at World Cup matches, the partnership also allows Anheuser-Busch InBev to promote its local brands in their respective regional markets.
Also Read – Qatar bans in-stadium beer sale at FIFA World Cup 2022
The Bangalore-headquartered Indian edtech firm was announced as a sponsor of the 2022 World Cup in March 2022. The partnership allows BYJU’S to use the World Cup branding to promote its brand across the world. The company also works towards creating educational content for young football fans worldwide.
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The Singapore-based cryptocurrency exchange platform was announced as an Official Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ as well as its exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform in March 2022.
Apart from branding rights, the partnership entails the two parties collaborating over awareness initiatives revolving around the platform. It also entails Crypto.com offering its users unique matchday experiences and opportunities to win merchandise.
The Qingdao-headquartered Chinese electronics giant joined the roster of FIFA Commercial Affiliates and was announced as an Official Sponsor of the 2022 World Cup in April 2021. The two parties originally partnered up in 2017, ahead of the 2018 World Cup which was held in Russia.
The partnership entails collaboration between the two parties over projects ranging from on-site activations to global ad campaigns. In November 2021, Hisense launched its ‘Too Big to Miss’ social media campaign to officially begin the build-up to the Qatar World Cup, with the campaign aiming to convince the consumers as to how the event would be too big a deal to miss out on, with Hisense offering massive discounts on its range of bleeding-edge electronics.
The Chicago-headquartered American fast-food giant has been a FIFA World Cup sponsor for over two decades. Throughout the quadrennial event, McDonald’s branding appears most prominently on the uniforms of the child mascots who accompany the players as they walk out on the pitch before a game. For the 2018 World Cup, McDonald’s was also the principal sponsor of the tournament’s official fantasy football game.
The last renewal between FIFA and McDonald’s was announced in October 2014 and confirmed McDonald’s sponsorship of the World Cup until Qatar 2022.
The Causeway Bay, Hong Kong-headquartered Chinese dairy products manufacturer was onboarded by FIFA as a second-tier World Cup sponsor for Russia 2018 in December 2017. In October 2021, China Mengniu Dairy Company was confirmed as a sponsor for the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
The Dongguan-headquartered Chinese tech company was onboarded by FIFA as a World Cup sponsor in May 2017 in a deal covering both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022. The Russia World Cup saw vivo not only enjoy global branding exposure but also conduct on-site fan-engagement activities throughout the tournament.
In November 2021, FIFA made vivo the exclusive smartphone sponsor for the 2021 Arab Cup, which was also held in Qatar.
The online game creation platform was announced as a FIFA World Cup sponsor in October 2022. The partnership entails creation and development of FIFA World, described as “a virtual environment that celebrates the power of football and the rich history of its pinnacle events”.
This free-to-access virtual theme park is set to be developed over the course of the 2022 World Cup and offer football fans unique experiences, events and access to bespoke content from the FIFA+ library. Midfielders Pedri (Spain) and Lena Oberdorf (Germany) are also set to feature in-game.
The Nyon-headquartered Swiss watchmaker returned as the Official Timekeeper of the FIFA Men’s World Cup for its fourth consecutive edition by unveiling the Big Bang e FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ in October 2022.
This limited-edition watch is designed to offer the football fans a unique experience. 15 minutes before each game in the tournament, the watch will display its user team line-ups and player profiles. The kick-off will send the watch into “match mode” and activate “timeline” that will allow the user to capture in-game moments. These moments will be replayable throughout the course of the match.
Hublot is also “timing” all games at the World Cup, with all 129 official referees set to wear Hublot watches to assist them in their officiating throughout the tournament.
Phygtl., a Silicon Valley-based tech startup that describes itself as a Web3 AR metaverse, partnered with FIFA in December 2022 to create an AR-based social experience for the fans during the course of the Qatar World Cup, which allowed the fans to create a “global first reward” titled The Golden-Globe-Football™.
Based in Barrie, Ontario, the global visual engagement solutions provider was announced as a Regional Supporter of the 2022 World Cup in April 2022. As per the deal, the company will look forward to leveraging the partnership to “showcase its stadium dressing and signage capabilities to 3.5 billion viewers around the world”.
In the past, The Look Company has also provided branding and signage solutions to FIFA for the 2019 Club World Cup.
Promoting itself as a “green blockchain technology company”, Algorand was announced as FIFA’s official blockchain platform in May 2022.
Apart from branding rights, the deal entails Algorand providing FIFA official blockchain-supported wallet solutions while also working with the governing body over developing its digital assets strategy. The deal also makes Algorand a Regional Supporter of the Qatar World Cup in North America and Europe as well as an Official Sponsor of the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
PepsiCo-owned, Plano, Texas-headquartered Frito-Lay became the first-ever salty-snack brand to collaborate with FIFA for the World Cup when it was announced as the 2022 WC’s North American Regional Supporter in June 2022. The partnership entails digital activations and advertising opportunities on the world football’s biggest stage and include the following Frito-Lay brands: Lay’s, Doritos, Cheetos, Tostitos, Ruffles, Sabritas, Quaker and Gamesa.
The Wuxi, Jiangsu-based Chinese electric vehicles manufacturer was announced as an Official Asia-Pacific FIFA World Cup 2022™ Regional Supporter In November 2022. The deal granted Yadea “in-stadium perimeter board advertising” as well as the licence to use official World Cup branding for promotional purposes.
Yadea also served as a Regional Sponsor to the 2018 Men’s World Cup, which was held in Russia.
As per the deal, Betano receives in-ground advertising and interview-backdrop branding rights during the matches of European teams in the tournament.
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