Q&A: Inside the business of the World Cup

As Dallas prepares to help host the FIFA World Cup this June, the tournament is expected to reshape conversations around sports business, tourism, sponsorships and global fan encouragement across North America.

SMU sports management experts Peter Carton and Kevin Byon explain what makes the World Cup different from any other sporting event—and why its impact could extend far beyond the pitch.

Q: Why did FIFA expand the World Cup to 48 teams and three host countries this year?

Peter: FIFA’s expansion to 48 teams reflects both commercial and strategic goals. Expanding the field allows more nations and regions to participate, which broadens the tournament’s global reach and increases engagement from fans, broadcasters and sponsors around the world. It also creates additional inventory in terms of matches, media rights and sponsorship opportunities.

The decision to use three host countries, the United States, Canada and Mexico, also helps distribute the enormous logistical and financial demands of a modern World Cup. Stadium infrastructure, transportation capacity and security requirements have all grown significantly as the event has expanded. The joint-host model allows FIFA to leverage existing world-class venues, while also emphasizing regional collaboration and market growth across North America.

Q: The U.S. is hosting the Club World Cup in 2025, the men's World Cup in 2026 and the Women's World Cup in 2031. What does this stretch of tournaments mean for soccer in America?

Peter: This is a transformational period for soccer in the United States. Hosting multiple major international tournaments in a relatively short span accelerates investment in infrastructure, media coverage, sponsorship and fan development. It also reinforces the U.S. as one of the most important commercial markets in global soccer.

From a Dallas perspective, local leaders have emphasized that North Texas is positioned to be one of the central hubs of the 2026 World Cup. FC Dallas president Dan Hunt has frequently noted that the region’s long-term investment in youth soccer infrastructure and player development helped make Dallas a natural choice for a major role in the tournament. Monica Paul, executive director of the Dallas Sports Commission, has also highlighted the projected economic impact and global visibility the event will bring to North Texas, particularly through tourism, international business exposure and community engagement initiatives.

More broadly, we are likely to see continued growth in Major League Soccer, the National Women’s Soccer League and youth participation, but the biggest impact may be cultural. Soccer increasingly occupies a mainstream position in American sports culture, especially among younger and more diverse audiences. These tournaments create recurring moments that deepen fan engagement and normalize soccer as a major part of the U.S. sports landscape rather than a niche or emerging sport.

Q: How is the World Cup different from the Super Bowl or the Olympics for the brands that sponsor it?

Peter: The World Cup offers sponsors something very few events can match: truly global, simultaneous audience attention. Unlike the Super Bowl, which is primarily centered on the U.S. market, the World Cup reaches audiences across virtually every continent and demographic group. And unlike the Olympics, which feature many sports and fragmented viewing patterns, the World Cup concentrates attention around a single sport with enormous worldwide passion and identity.

For brands, that means the tournament is not just an advertising platform, but also a cultural platform. Sponsorships become tied to national identity, emotion and global storytelling in ways that are difficult to replicate elsewhere in sports. Companies use the World Cup to build worldwide brand awareness, activate international campaigns and connect with consumers through shared emotional experiences. 

FIFA’s sponsorship system includes multiple partnership levels, such as FIFA Partners (global-level sponsors), FIFA World Cup Sponsors, and Host City Supporters. Each level provides brands with different opportunities to associate themselves with soccer, the tournament, and fan culture. While the pricing, rights, and benefits vary depending on the sponsorship tier, these partnership structures allow brands with different marketing objectives and budgets to leverage the global influence of the World Cup and achieve their business goals together.

Q: What makes some fans willing to travel halfway around the world for a single match?

Kevin: Team identification is a big factor. For highly identified fans, the team or national side becomes part of the self, so attending a major match is experienced as a way to affirm belonging, loyalty, pride, and personal history.

Sport tourism research also shows that travel to mega-events is shaped by both sport motives and tourism motives. Fans may be driven by love for the team, interest in elite competition, nostalgia, social connection, destination appeal, and the symbolic value of “being there.”

Q: With matches spread across 16 cities and three countries, how are fans deciding where to go this summer?

Kevin: Fans are likely deciding where to go through a combination of team-following logic, match quality, cost, accessibility, and destination appeal. It will also relate to the fans’ team identification. 

Q: Some World Cup ads stick with fans for years and others disappear by August. What's the difference? 

Kevin: The difference often comes down to whether the brand is building a long-term association with the World Cup or simply running a short-term tournament advertisement. Some brands become memorable because they repeatedly connect themselves with FIFA, the World Cup, national pride, football culture, and fan rituals over time. Through long-term sponsorship or consistent campaign themes, the brand becomes part of how fans remember the event itself. In contrast, short-term ads may receive attention during the tournament, but they often disappear quickly if they are not connected to a larger brand story.

Q: What separates a long-term World Cup partnership from a short-term sponsorship campaign?

Kevin: In sport marketing, business partnerships generally fall into two categories: strategic alliances and tactical alliances.  
Strategic alliances are long-term partnerships deeply woven into an organization’s branding and global marketing strategy. These agreements are often exclusive and can last for many years. One example is Visa’s partnership with FIFA and the Olympic Games’ TOP sponsorship program, where brands maintain an extensive international presence closely tied to the events.

Tactical alliances, by contrast, are typically shorter-term and narrower in scope. These partnerships—like for instance, Bank of America’s regional Olympic sponsorship in North America—are often centered on a specific event and are less integrated into an organization’s overall strategy.  

Q: How are mega-events changing the business of sports?

Kevin: Mega-sporting events such as the World Cup are expected to generate a wide range of positive economic impacts on the host region, benefiting retail, tourism, the food and beverage industry, and even local brands. In particular, as consumers increasingly engage with sport as a form of cultural experience, companies also seem to be shifting their focus from simple advertising toward creating event-related experiences and encouraging consumer participation.