September: international stage cup viewers | Information and options
More than 93,000 seen appearances of manufacturers selling unhealthy food and drinks, alcohol, playing and speculative merchandise had been recorded throughout protection of the most important FIFA World Cup in historical past, new analysis has discovered. Unhealthy food and drinks manufacturers accounted for greater than seven in ten, with 65,722 appearances.
The analysis, led by the University of Bristol in collaboration with the University of Oxford, is the primary to look at dangerous commodity branding throughout a complete FIFA World Cup. The group used the UK’s strongest supercomputer, Isambard-AI, primarily based at University of Bristol, to analyse all 172.6 hours of dwell play throughout the match’s 104 matches.
The scale of potential publicity was extraordinary. FIFA reported that almost six billion folks across the international stage engaged with the match, whereas broadcast information had been damaged in additional than 30 nations. For the UK, the researchers estimated that dangerous product promoting generated 267 billion impressions throughout the 53 broadcasts for which viewers knowledge had been out there.
The evaluation counted promoting constructed into the match footage (e.g. on the hoardings), somewhat than commercials proven throughout promoting breaks. Harmful product branding appeared in each match and was seen throughout 39.3 hours of dwell play, virtually 1 / 4 of all dwell play. Viewers couldn’t keep away from this advertising with out additionally lacking a number of the soccer.
Unhealthy food and drinks manufacturers had been discovered to dominate the match’s sponsorship, representing greater than seven in ten (70.4%) of all branding detected. This was adopted by prediction bourses with 9,360 appearances, alcohol with 9,266, playing with 6,429 and cryptocurrency with 2,632.
Exposure was closely concentrated amongst a handful of worldwide recognised manufacturers. A well-recognized gentle drink model accounted for the best variety of logos (21,893), adopted by a significant fast-food chain (13,915), a sports activities drink model (12,777), and a preferred crisps model (12,087). Together, these 4 manufacturers had been liable for 65% of all dangerous commodity logos recorded through the match.
Dr Raffaello Rossi, Senior Lecturer in Marketing and Co-Director of the Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research on the University of Bristol, and co-author of the examine, mentioned: “As one of many international stage’s most watched sporting occasions, reaching billions of individuals, this yr’s FIFA World Cup offered an unparalleled platform for promoting. Our findings reveal the sheer scale of branding embedded all through match broadcasts, making publicity to unhealthy meals, alcohol and playing manufacturers each omnipresent and unavoidable for viewers.
“This is especially regarding given the substantial physique of proof linking advertising for unhealthy merchandise, alcohol and playing with elevated consumption and a spread of well being, social and monetary harms, particularly amongst kids and younger folks.”
Dr Elisa Becker, Researcher, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, co-author of this examine added: “We are dealing with a worldwide disaster of childhood weight problems and diet-related illness, but the international stage’s greatest sporting occasion is saturated with advertising for unhealthy meals and drinks. Sport must be a part of the answer to poor well being – not one of many international stage’s strongest promoting platforms for the merchandise driving it.”
A key problem highlighted by the analysis is that FIFA’s match footage, which featured the identical embedded promoting across the pitch, was shared with broadcasters across the international stage, together with in nations the place alcohol, playing or prediction bourses promoting could also be restricted or unlawful.
Despite present digital board substitute know-how which allows completely different promoting to be proven in several nations, findings from this report counsel FIFA’s industrial mannequin didn’t adequately account for nationwide legal guidelines and cultural norms governing the promotion of dangerous commodities. FIFA didn’t use this know-how, and distributed World Cup footage containing embedded branding to nations the place the use, commercial, or buy of some promoted merchandise just isn’t authorized.
Dr Rossi added: “FIFA’s advertising offers appeared to indicate little respect for nationwide legal guidelines and licensing regimes. The match featured round 16,000 playing and prediction bourses logos, with this promoting reaching a bunch of nations the place the promoted manufacturers had been unlicensed, or the place their authorized standing was unsure. Indeed, one of the vital marketed playing manufacturers listed licences in round 20 nations, whereas the World Cup was broadcast throughout greater than 220 territories. Put plainly, audiences within the overwhelming majority of nations had been proven promoting for a playing operator that was not licensed domestically.
“What makes this significantly disappointing is that the issue was avoidable. Technology beforehand utilized by the UEFA EURO 2024, already permits completely different nations to see completely different pitchside promoting, but it was not used to take away or substitute branding the place merchandise couldn’t lawfully be marketed or supplied.”
The researchers name for governments and regulators to make sure that advertising guidelines apply to industrial branding embedded inside dwell sports activities broadcasts, backed by significant penalties. They additionally urge FIFA to undertake an independently developed public curiosity customary for industrial partnerships and use present know-how to take away or substitute branding the place merchandise can not lawfully be marketed or supplied.
Dr Rossi mentioned: “Collectively, our findings spotlight how a match celebrated for bringing folks collectively is, on the identical time, appearing as a strong platform for selling merchandise related to a number of the international stage’s main causes of preventable sickness and hurt.”
Beth Bradshaw, Policy and Advocacy Lead, Obesity Health Alliance, added: “Sport has monumental energy to positively affect kids’s well being, but this newest analysis highlights a significant loophole in efforts to guard kids from unhealthy meals advertising.
“Commercial manufacturers use the eagerness and pleasure of sport to promote merchandise, and younger followers are paying the worth. The Government ought to act on the Health and Social Care Select Committee’s advice to increase promoting restrictions to sport and different rising types of advertising. If we’re severe about elevating the healthiest technology of youngsters, unhealthy meals manufacturers ought to not be centre stage within the sports activities they love.”
Alex Ballinger MP, Co-Chair of the Gambling Reform APPG, mentioned: “This analysis reveals the size and pervasive presence of gambling-related promoting on the 2026 World Cup: logos and branding for playing platforms, prediction bourses, and cryptocurrency corporations appeared over 18,000 instances in FIFA’s broadcast footage of the match.
“It is very regarding that kids had been uncovered to those promotions. Such common, repeated publicity encourages younger followers to affiliate their heroes and the game they love with playing, whereas laundering the picture of addictive, dangerous merchandise.
“As this examine makes clear, our present guidelines and safeguards are insufficient. Urgent reform is required to guard younger and weak followers and protect the gorgeous recreation.”
US Congressman, Paul Tonko commented: “Sports playing has turn out to be embedded in each facet of sports activities, with each second of a match marketed as a chance to guess. This countless barrage is very regarding for younger followers, as research affirm that publicity to playing early in life is instantly linked to downside playing later. This is quickly turning into the general public well being disaster of our technology. It’s clear that Congress must step in to offer minimal shopper safeguards for on-line sports activities playing – whether or not performed via prediction bourses or conventional sportsbooks – by passing laws like my SAFE Bet Act. I’ll preserve pushing to move this laws that will get sports activities out of the fingers of the playing business and again the place they belong; with followers and households.”
The report is the most recent in a sequence of groundbreaking research performed by members of the University’s Bristol Hub for Gambling Harms Research, whose work has influenced public coverage, strengthened shopper safety, and formed extra inclusive therapy companies for these affected by playing harms. The report was funded by the University of Bristol.
Report
‘The price of the beautiful game: how the biggest FIFA World Cup ever became a global platform for promoting harmful products’ by Saeid Moradipour, Elisa Becker, Ru Jia, Jamie Wheaton, Philip Newall, and Raffaello Rossi
Further data
Further details about this analysis
Results from this analysis had been generated utilizing an AI pc imaginative and prescient mannequin developed by the analysis group on Bristol’s Isambard-AI, the UK’s strongest AI supercomputer. Isambard-AI powered the evaluation of 172.6 hours of dwell match footage from all 104 video games performed between 11 June and 19 July 2026.
Built and managed by the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), Isambard-AI now helps over 4000 customers throughout 1000 initiatives within the UK.
The mannequin was skilled to detect sponsorship and branding embedded inside FIFA’s centrally managed international stage broadcast feed, somewhat than ads inserted by particular person broadcasters.
For each brand the pc mannequin recognized, the mannequin recorded which model it belonged to, the match and second at which it appeared, how lengthy it remained seen, and what number of copies of that model had been on display screen on the identical time. The mannequin additionally counted each seen illustration of an included model, whether or not it appeared as a model brand, standalone image or written model identify.
Researchers decided which manufacturers had been categorized as dangerous primarily based on their important merchandise, with food and drinks manufacturers assessed towards WHO vitamin requirements and included if their core merchandise had been unhealthy, whereas alcohol, playing, cryptocurrency and prediction bourses manufacturers had been robotically categorized as dangerous as a result of the dangers related to these merchandise are already nicely established.
About BriCS
The Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), a part of the University of Bristol, is a number one UK host for superior high-performance computing and AI development projects. BriCS constructed and operates Isambard-AI, the UK’s strongest AI supercomputer and a cornerstone of the federal government funded AI Research Resource (AIRR). It powers breakthroughs in areas corresponding to drug discovery, local weather analysis, and robotics throughout academia and the personal sector throughout 4000 users and 1000 projects.
BriCS additionally constructed and handle Isambard 3, one of many UK’s strongest CPU-based methods. Combining deep HPC experience with fast, modular deployment functionality, BriCS positions Bristol and the UK as an overseas hub for AI-driven scientific discovery.
About Isambard-AI
Isambard-AI is the 4th greenest supercomputer within the international stage and the 13th strongest. It is the quickest university-based supercomputer discovered wherever within the international stage.
Access is free to UK researchers and SMEs; functions are made by way of the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade.
Isambard-AI was constructed with £225m UK authorities funding and launched in 2025 by then SoS for DSIT, Peter Kyle.
Website | YouTube (case research) | LinkedIn | Instagram | Bluesky
