There’s no real ceiling on the appetite for the World Cup.
An unprecedented 6 billion people are expected to engage with the tournament this year, up from the 5 billion who watched the 2022 edition in Qatar.
In the months leading up to kickoff, millions of people are already drawn into the World Cup hype, swept up in a spirit of national pride and international competition. Many fan groups have been developing new songs for the summer ahead and wearing their team’s latest uniforms. It pulls people in, regardless of their level of fandom.
And for the next two months, even casual fans will be riveted by the biggest soccer stars in the world and the narratives that bring the drama to life.
It’s an extraordinary opportunity to convert casual interest into lasting fan relationships.
There are millions of people worldwide getting drawn into the excitement right now, and anyone can capture a portion of that attention.
National teams are already promoting their biggest stars and stoking the local fan base. Broadcasters are pushing the start of play, building anticipation around rivalries and key matchups. And teams and leagues are reaching into their archives for memorable moments for their players heading to international competition.
Long before kickoff, the race for fan attention is already in full swing.
Build around the players driving the conversation
Broadcasters and streamers with rights to the games spend months building anticipation around the tournament, trying to turn growing public interest into massive audiences once play begins.
But they’re not the only ones competing for attention before kickoff.
Teams and leagues, which obviously don’t have the same media rights as broadcasters, are still competing for the same rising fan attention, using their own players to drive engagement and build long-term interest, and even lure some people to their merchandise shops.
Some pro-active club teams already secured fresh talent for the 2026-27 season. Some of those young players haven’t started playing for the teams yet. Their appearance at the World Cup gives fans the first chance to watch those players live, not just through highlight reels.
A standout World Cup from those younger players could drive demand for both national team shirts and their club jerseys ahead of the new season.
The buildup around a player like Harry Kane offers a clear look at how different parts of the soccer ecosystem compete for attention before the tournament begins.
Build emotional investment
England’s national team is already posting retrospective content celebrating Kane’s international career, while Kane himself has shared memories of his first goal for England.
These types of posts, repeated across multiple players throughout the tournament build up, help build emotional investment.
There’s also an appetite with fans to see the new national team call-ups who are set to represent their country this summer. These younger stars are also gateways for younger fans to connect to the wider story.
Newer faces in the squad, like Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers and Arsenal’s Noni Madueke, are also emerging as part of England’s World Cup story. Their personalities and style resonate strongly with younger fans who see themselves reflected in the players they follow.
Stay part of the conversation
The same pattern is playing out across leagues and clubs throughout the sport. The Premier League continues resurfacing Kane moments from his years in England with Tottenham Hotspur, while Bayern Munich and Bundesliga look to tap into the Kane hype following his second season in Germany.
Even fans whose national teams are eliminated often stay attached through the players still in it. They shift their support to follow the rivalries and storylines emerging elsewhere in the tournament.
Every post reaches slightly different audiences, connecting club supporters, national team fans, and player followings into the same growing World Cup conversation.
Turn attention into action
As anticipation builds, teams and leagues also use the World Cup moment to drive merchandise sales, app engagement, sponsorship visibility, and traffic to their own platforms.
According to a recent report on pre-season viewing habits, the period before competition begins is one of the strongest windows for merchandise sales and fan engagement, with up to 75% of fans ready to buy before kickoff.
England has already featured leading stars like Bukayo Saka in promotions for the new national team uniform, directing fans to purchase through links in its social channel.
How it played out in 2022
Here’s a look at how a select sample of 2022 World Cup rights holders around the globe scaled their content strategies during the last competition.
Deutsche Telekom kept fans connected between matches
During the 2022 World Cup, Deutsche Telekom focused on delivering highlights to fans within minutes of the final whistle across MagentaTV, MagentaSport, and social platforms. The broadcaster used rapid publishing and short-form clips to stay connected to fans as conversations around the tournament continued throughout the day.
The strategy extended engagement beyond the live broadcast itself, giving fans more ways to follow the tournament between matches and throughout the day. In the Euro 2024, the broadcaster went even further, using an Out of Home (OOH) strategy to broadcast the games in thousands of public spaces.
CCTV turned the World Cup into a nonstop content experience
With multiple matches, storylines, and viral moments unfolding every day, fans had little chance of following everything live during the 2022 World Cup. This was especially true in China, where the five-hour time difference with Qatar meant many matches were played overnight.
Chinese broadcaster CCTV treated the tournament as more than a live event. It became a continuous stream of short-form content.
CCTV published more than 5,000 World Cup videos (80 per game) across its app and digital platforms during the tournament. CCTV created content in multiple formats, in horizontal and vertical ratios tailored to different platforms and viewing habits.
TelevisaUnivision built a cross-border World Cup audience
TelevisaUnivision used the 2022 World Cup to expand engagement across its Spanish-language digital ecosystem in both Mexico and the United States. During the tournament, 19.6 million viewers streamed 40 World Cup matches on ViX, while short and long-form clips were distributed across social platforms, apps, and OTT services.
The broadcaster used tailored content around different leagues, tournaments, and fan interests to keep audiences engaged beyond live matches.
TV2 Norway and TVP Sport bring World Cup highlights directly into search
During the 2022 World Cup, broadcasters TV2 Norway and TVP Sport in Poland made key tournament moments instantly accessible to fans searching for updates online. Both broadcasters used a vertical video format automatically published into Google OneBox search results, allowing fans to discover World Cup moments in near-real time as the tournament unfolded, while directing audiences toward their own digital properties.
