The FIFA World Cup 2026, co-hosted across North America for the first time, has spelled out what some in U.S. media circles have known for some time: association football, or “soccer” to use local parlance, is now big in America, and it’s time for corporations to cash in at pace — one hydration break at a time.
The fact that the U.S. Men’s National Team has consistently generated live audiences in and around the 30 million mark and has warranted presidential intervention, per media reports, underlines an already popular notion: sports is one of the last big live audience mass-market TV networks advertisers can reach.
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