2026 World Cup: IP Strategy and the World’s Largest Sports Event

Summary: The 2026 FIFA World Cup highlights the central role of intellectual property in protecting one of the world's largest sports businesses, covering trademarks, copyrights, broadcasting rights, sponsorships and player image rights. The article examines how Mexico’s legal framework, including anti-ambush marketing provisions, supports FIFA’s commercial strategy while outlining the opportunities and compliance challenges for companies seeking to capitalize on the tournament. 

The FIFA World Cup is far more than a sporting tournament. It is a multibillion-dollar commercial enterprise, underpinned by a sophisticated intellectual property strategy that protects all possible assets. With the 2026 edition held in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, it is timely to examine the legal framework that made this global spectacle possible.

An Empire Built on Registered Trademarks

FIFA maintains an extensive intellectual property portfolio that includes registered trademarks in virtually every country around the world. Terms such as “FIFA,” “World Cup,” “Copa del Mundo,” “FIFA World Cup 2026,” and numerous variations in different languages are protected across multiple classes under the Nice Classification. In Mexico, for example, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) processed numerous trademark applications related to the FIFA World Cup to secure territorial protection.

The Most Protected Trophy on the Planet

The FIFA World Cup Trophy is safeguarded through a combination of three-dimensional trademarks, copyright protection and other intellectual property rights across multiple jurisdictions. FIFA regards the Trophy as one of its most valuable brand assets and maintains a strict policy against its unauthorized commercial reproduction and exploitation. This multi-layered approach reflects FIFA’s broader brand protection strategy, under which intellectual property rights are complemented by licensing programmes and enforcement measures to preserve the exclusivity of the FIFA World Cup brand and the value of its commercial programme.

The Battle Against Ambush Marketing

One of FIFA’s greatest challenges was combating so-called ambush marketing: practices through which non-sponsoring companies attempted to associate themselves with the event without paying the corresponding rights fees. Official World Cup sponsors paid figures exceeding hundreds of millions of dollars and expected exclusivity in their categories.

As part of the commitments undertaken by host countries, FIFA typically requested the implementation of specific legal measures to protect the commercial rights associated with the tournament and prevent ambush marketing. In previous World Cup editions, some host countries, such as Brazil and Russia, adopted special legislation to strengthen the protection of FIFA’s and its official sponsors’ commercial rights. Among other measures, commercial restriction zones (clean zones) were established in the vicinity of stadiums, and certain unauthorized advertising and promotional activities were restricted during the tournament, with the aim of preventing ambush marketing practices.

For the 2026 World Cup, in the case of Mexico, among other measures, Mexican legislation expressly incorporated a provision aimed at combating ambush marketing. Article 386, Section II, subsection e), of the Federal Law for the Protection of Industrial Property establishes as an administrative infringement:

“Carrying out, in the course of industrial or commercial activities, acts that cause or induce the public to confusion, error, or deception, by making them believe or unfoundedly assume the existence of an official sponsorship relationship between a distinctive sign and a public or private mass gathering event.”

This provision sought to protect the commercial exclusivity of official sponsors and prevent third parties from gaining a competitive advantage by creating, without authorization, the impression that they maintained a link, sponsorship, affiliation, or official endorsement with respect to a highly relevant event such as the FIFA World Cup. In this way, Mexican legislation expressly recognized one of the most characteristic forms of ambush marketing and provided IMPI with a specific legal basis for sanctioning such conduct, even when there was no direct use of the event organizer’s trademarks.

Image Rights and the Value of Players

Elite players have transformed their identity into a commercial and trademark asset of enormous value. Their names, nicknames, and other distinctive elements associated with their personality—such as certain alphanumeric combinations, jersey numbers, or, in some cases, characteristic gestures and celebrations—may be subject to protection, provided they meet the applicable legal requirements in each jurisdiction.

Cristiano Ronaldo, for example, holds various registrations and applications related to the designation “CR7” across different jurisdictions and classes of goods and services. This trademark has been exploited through licenses, commercial collaborations, and brand extensions in sectors such as fashion, perfumery, and sporting goods.

At the same time, the World Cup gave rise to an interplay between players’ image rights and individual commercial commitments, on the one hand, and the rights of FIFA and the sponsors of the participating national teams, on the other. Players’ promotional activities were subject to a combination of tournament regulations, participation agreements, contracts with national football associations, and individual sponsorship arrangements. The purpose of this framework was to prevent unauthorized brands from creating a commercial association with the tournament or undermining the exclusivity granted to FIFA’s official sponsors, without necessarily imposing a blanket prohibition on all advertising activities undertaken by players.

Broadcasting Rights: The Most Valuable Asset

Audiovisual rights constituted FIFA’s main source of revenue and one of the most valuable commercial assets associated with the World Cup. For the 2023-2026 commercial cycle, the commercialization of these rights reached record figures, reflecting the increasing value of live sports broadcasting in an environment characterized by the expansion of streaming and digital platforms. In this context, protecting broadcasting rights against piracy, particularly through unauthorized retransmissions via IPTV services, digital platforms, and social networks, became one of FIFA’s top priorities, combining technological monitoring and blocking tools with coordinated legal actions at the international level.

In Mexico, the exploitation of audiovisual rights also had to be harmonized with the public interest events regime provided for in the Federal Telecommunications and Broadcasting Law and the guidelines issued by the Federal Telecommunications Institute. This regime ensured that certain World Cup matches, such as Mexican National Team games and other particularly relevant matches, were broadcast on free-to-air television, which introduced additional considerations in the structuring and commercialization of audiovisual rights, as the public interest in accessing certain events coexisted with the exclusive rights acquired by licensees.

Opportunities and Challenges for Mexico

The 2026 FIFA World Cup represented an extraordinary opportunity for companies to develop commercial and marketing strategies linked to the enthusiasm generated by the tournament. However, it also required a clear understanding of the legal framework that protects the intellectual property assets associated with the event.

Conclusion

Behind every goal, every celebration, and every memorable moment of the World Cup 2026  lay a complex legal architecture of intellectual property rights that protected some of the most valuable commercial assets in world sports. Trademarks, copyrights, designs, audiovisual rights, licenses, and sponsorships formed an ecosystem that enabled FIFA to organize the tournament, preserve the exclusivity of its commercial partners, and generate the resources it subsequently allocated to the development of football worldwide.

For businesses and legal professionals in Mexico, understanding this regulatory framework transcended the academic realm. The hosting of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in our country represented an opportunity to drive innovation and commercial development, but also a reminder of the importance of respecting intellectual property rights and designing business strategies that leveraged the World Cup phenomenon within the limits established by law. In this sense, the World Cup was not only the world’s greatest sporting spectacle but also one of the most sophisticated examples of how intellectual property articulates and protects a multi-billion-dollar global industry.