What Marketers Can Learn From Toronto’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Panel: Five Strategic Opportunities You Should Be Planning For Now

Toronto will host the opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2026, and six games in total. This is the largest tournament in FIFA history and if media engagement from 2022 is any indicator, this World Cup will be watched by more than 5 billion viewers globally. Canada’s opening match alone is expected to reach 300 million people. For marketers, that scale creates a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reach audiences, build brand relevance, and show up in a culturally meaningful way.

The American Marketing Association Toronto brought together the leaders behind the Canadian and Toronto host efforts to discuss what this moment means for brands. Below are the top learnings every marketer should consider as they ramp up the planning efforts.

Whether you’re a national brand, a mid-sized business, or a marketer exploring how to activate around the tournament without a global sponsorship, there are clear paths to participate.

1. Toronto’s Multicultural Advantage Is the Marketing Advantage

The panel emphasized one theme repeatedly: Canada, and Toronto specifically, wins on authenticity when it comes to multicultural marketing.

Toronto is the most diverse city in the tournament, with more than 50% of residents born outside of Canada. This level of diversity is unmatched by any past World Cup host city. With Toronto and Vancouver combined, Canada hosts two of the four most diverse cities in the world among the 16 hosts.

For brands, this means:

  • You can activate around multiple fan bases simultaneously. Soula Kioussis, Chief Commercial Officer, Coca-Cola Canada shared a compelling statistic – the average Canadian fan cheers for two to three teams, not just one.
  • Audiences naturally engage with global narratives, so there is no need to manufacture international relevance.
  • Cultural programming will be everywhere, from FIFA Fan Festival to neighbourhood celebrations.

Strategic takeaway:

Do not treat the FIFA 2026 World Cup as a single audience moment. Treat it as multiple overlapping cultural moments happening concurrently, with each having its own rituals, foods, languages, and emotional triggers. This is especially relevant for brands that are not a tier-one sponsor – cultural relevance can outperform paid assets when executed authentically.

2. The FIFA Fan Experience Will Be Citywide — Brands Should Think Beyond the Stadium

The reality is, most fans will not have tickets. Sandra Gage, Executive Director, Commercial Operations – FIFA World Cup 2026 shared that early ticket windows saw over 4.5 million registrations, and demand continues to rise. This means that Toronto’s official FIFA Fan Festival, hosted at the Bentway, is expected to be the city’s central celebration zone.

But equally important is that the City of Toronto expects fan celebrations across neighbourhoods, not just downtown.

The City has released a Community Activation Toolkit, giving businesses, BIAs, schools, and organizations guidelines on how to host their own culturally specific events while respecting FIFA brand rules.

What this means for marketers:

  • You can activate locally, authentically, and legally without needing a global sponsorship.
  • You can design experiences within your neighbourhood, office, campus, or retail environment.
  • You can use food, music, art, and community partnerships to reflect cultural diversity.

Strategic takeaway:

Think hyperlocal. The biggest wins can come from neighbourhood-level engagement, such as celebrations in Little Italy, Little Jamaica, Chinatown, South Asian corridors, Latin American communities, and more. Fan participation in World Cup will not be exclusively downtown. You can expect to see engagement across the entire GTHA.

3. You Don’t Need to Be Coca-Cola to Participate: Real Opportunities for Non-Tier-One Brands

While Coca-Cola, Adidas, Visa and other global partners hold the highest rights packages, this World Cup includes something unprecedented: host city supporter programs and donor programs for local brands.

Toronto already has two host city supporters in place – Ontario Power Generation and Humber College. These packages allow access to IP, activations at FIFA Fan Festival, and city-linked brand presence.

For mid-sized marketers, the City of Toronto has opened doors that didn’t exist in previous tournaments:

  • Local procurement is open through the City of Toronto’s vendor portals for everything from creative services to on-site operations.
  • Donor/hospitality programs provide additional brand access.
  • The Community Activation Toolkit enables brand-safe, non-sponsor marketing for businesses unable to license FIFA IP.

Strategic takeaway:

  • Marketers can explore ways to participate without overextending budget:
    • Become a host city supporter
    • Participate in donor/hospitality programs
    • Submit to procurement opportunities (design, production, staffing, digital, events)
    • Build non-IP neighbourhood or community-based activations

4. Legacy Planning Matters And Smart Brands Will Think Long-Term

Panelists emphasized that the World Cup isn’t just 39 days of matches — it’s a catalyst for long-term cultural and economic impact.

Legacy priorities include:

  • Increased youth soccer participation
  • Mini-pitches in underserved neighbourhoods
  • Investment in coaching
  • Strengthening Canada’s sports economy (currently 0.5% of GDP, with potential to grow closer to global benchmarks of 2–4%)
  • Community programming that continues beyond 2026

Marketers should consider how their World Cup activations can seed durable brand associations:

  • Youth programs
  • Sustainability initiatives
  • Cultural partnerships
  • Support for local clubs or training facilities
  • Storytelling around Canadian identity and multicultural unity

Strategic takeaway:

Brands that frame their World Cup activity through the lens of legacy will resonate more deeply and win favour with communities long after the tournament ends.

5. Operational Excellence Will Make or Break Fan, and Brand Perception

“The small things matter” was an overarching theme shared from the panel.

Operational readiness like public transit, smooth gate entry, traffic flow, and crowd management can make or break the fan experience – remember the GO Train breakdown during the Canada–Ecuador match?

For marketers planning activations, this means:

  • Build contingency and risk planning into every initiative
  • Expect extreme crowd density during matches at FIFA Fan Festival
  • Coordinate with city logistics teams and BIAs early
  • Consider staffing, accessibility, and visitor flow as part of the brand experience
  • Over-communicate with customers about transportation and timing

Strategic takeaway:

Your activation is not just a touch-point, it also becomes part of the city’s overall fan experience. The smoother your logistics, the more positive the brand impression.

Final Thoughts: The World Cup Is a Cultural Moment, Not Just a Sporting Event

Panelists made one thing very clear: FIFA 2026 World Cup is not simply a tournament. It’s a nation-building moment and a global cultural stage.

For marketers, the opportunity is not limited to those with major sponsorship budgets. It’s accessible to businesses willing to think creatively, hyper-locally, and inclusively.

Whether your brand wants to engage multicultural audiences, activate at the neighbourhood level, create a legacy program, or design a cross-country campaign, the planning must begin now.

Let’s Talk About Your FIFA 2026 World Cup Strategy

If you’re exploring how your brand might participate — whether through neighbourhood activations, multicultural campaigns, hospitality programs, or content strategy, we’d be happy to have a conversation.

Reach out to discuss your FIFA 2026 World Cup plans and opportunities.

Contact Us
Share