The 2026 World Cup has been a tournament where alcohol brands hoped to win influence through sponsorship

The 2026 World Cup gave alcohol companies—particularly AB InBev, which owns Budweiser, the tournament's official beer—the sponsorship opportunity of a lifetime. Sports marketing has evolved far beyond pitch-side advertising, The Conversation reports, with alcohol brands now deeply woven into fan experience through digital content, interactive promotions, social media, and stadium zones that reach far beyond the ninety minutes on the field. Research on young people aged eleven to seventeen shows many recognize the strategy: sponsors target football precisely because it reaches entire families, building brand associations from childhood. Yet per The Conversation's analysis, repeated exposure through sophisticated marketing is linked to earlier drinking among adolescents and increased consumption among those who already drink. Even zero-alcohol campaigns using familiar branding still register as alcohol promotion with young audiences. Kids in the research found the sport-alcohol link both 'confusing' and 'ironic' given elite athletes embody health. Governments have the power to regulate sponsorship; the question is whether they will.

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