Sports sponsorship in mega sporting events: the 2026 World Cup and the health of a nation

Document Type

Article

Source of Publication

Soccer and Society

Publication Date

3-9-2026

Abstract

This research intends to be timely and topical given the second term of President Donald Trump and his controversial appointment of Robert Kennedy (RFK) Junior as Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS). The 2026 USA/Mexico/Canada World Cup coincides with the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence and Trump has given RFK Jr the task to ‘Make America Healthy Again’ (MAHA). Against this backdrop, this research focuses on FIFA World Cup events to examine how sponsorship can reinforce healthy messages. To achieve this, a chronological timeline analysis of historic sponsorship of World Cup events was conducted. Second, we identified key factors that support the presence of major sponsors at these events. Third, we explored the connections between health and the current sponsorship landscape and finally, we discussed emerging innovative approaches to health promotion in sport sponsorship and considered the potential transformation of sponsors for the upcoming World Cup events.

ISSN

1466-0970

Publisher

Informa UK Limited

Disciplines

Business

Keywords

Mega- (0.48), Political science (0.44), Advertising (0.42), Public relations (0.41), Business (0.37), Football (0.34), Economic growth (0.29), Public health (0.28), Government (linguistics) (0.26), Media studies (0.25)

Scopus ID

105032480645

Indexed in Scopus

yes

Open Access

no

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