Newsletter from July 20, 2026

Let’s Talk About the World Cup Final

How FIFA took NFL’s playbook. 🤔

Benjamin Diedering

sent: July 20, 2026

Subject: Let’s Talk About the World Cup Final

Hello,

Ever since I came to the US, I’ve seen the Super Bowl be the undisputed king of live event marketing. Where the halftime show is more important than the scoreline, and where brands pay big bucks just to get noticed.

But, I saw something shift this summer. FIFA came to America, and it brought the entire world with it.

I attended six World Cup matches this tournament (all of which I covered on my IG, btw @benjamindiedering).

And after everything I saw and experienced, I couldn’t wait to sit down and write this. This is my final piece on the World Cup. I’ve shared moments and observations throughout the tournament, but this is where I put it all together… the bigger picture of it all!

BOTH EVENTS, SIDE BY SIDE

I have some data that tells us everything.

Super Bowl LIX in February 2025 drew 127.7 million US viewers… the largest audience in American television history. Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show peaked at 133.5 million viewers. Crazy numbers for a domestic event!

The FIFA World Cup 2026 is operating on a different scale entirely. The 2022 final alone drew 1.42 billion global viewers, the highest audience ever recorded for a single sporting event.

In 2026? It’s projected to reach approximately 1.8 billion. FIFA projects around 6 billion total engagements across broadcast, streaming, digital, and out-of-home viewing for the full tournament.

But here’s the number that should get every American marketer’s attention:

Average US viewership in 2026: 5.05 million viewers per match
92% increase from 2022
US vs Belgium round of 16 match: 30 million viewers on Fox alone (most-watched soccer telecast in US history)

FIFA TOOK NFL’S PLAYBOOK

I know the Super Bowl didn’t become a cultural institution because of football. It became one because of entertainment. The halftime show, commercials, the spectacle… these are the hooks that keep non-fans tuned in.

FIFA looked at that formula and went bigger.

Opening ceremony featured: Shakira, Burna Boy, J Balvin, Future, Tyla across ceremonies in Mexico City, Toronto, and LA.

Closing ceremony + halftime show: Tom Cruise, Post Malone, Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS, Coldplay’s Chris Martin, Jennifer Hudson, and IShowSpeed.

That list seems insane, but what FIFA understood (and executed well) is that a global event needs a global lineup. Younger fans came for creators like Speed and his energy. Millennials tuned in for Post Malone and Hudson. Older audiences connected with Madonna. K-pop fans worldwide watched for BTS.

This was an event with multiple entry points, each pulling in a completely different audience segment.

THE OPPORTUNITY

The production was impressive. But not everything landed perfectly, and it’s worth being honest about that.

The ceremony and halftime show felt slightly disconnected at times. Each artist had their own segment, but there weren’t many genuine crossover moments. Imagine Madonna and JB sharing a stage. Or a collab between a Latin icon and a K-pop group.

Those are the moments that live forever. The logistics are incredibly complex, but if FIFA can engineer more of those in future tournaments, the ceremony becomes untouchable.

The other one I keep thinking about is the hydration break. CocaCola reportedly invested heavily in owning that moment… but standing in the stadium, it never felt like a Coca-Cola moment. It just felt like a break.

That gap between investment and ownership is a real branding problem. True sponsorship ownership means fans instinctively associate the moment with the brand.

On the other hand, Adidas owned its moment. I liked the ball activation very much! A small but smart move, carrying the official match ball onto the pitch (with a special guest/celeb) as part of the ceremony turns a product into a ritual.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Here’s what I don’t think gets talked about enough.

Hosting the World Cup in America wasn’t just about growing soccer. It was a cultural exchange at a scale that no government programme or marketing campaign could manufacture.

Millions of international visitors landed in US cities for six weeks. They ate at American diners, took American school buses, stayed in American hotels, and watched games alongside Americans who had never cared about football before.

FIFA projected 2.6 million international visitors and a $9 billion GDP contribution across North America.

So where does the sport go from here? I think the answer is obvious. Soccer in America has crossed a threshold it won’t step back from. A generation of American kids watched the USMNT in front of 30 million viewers this summer.

The Super Bowl built its cultural status over fifty+ years. The World Cup just compressed that timeline into six weeks on American soil. The infrastructure is being built, the audience is there, and the next generation of American fans is already hooked.

Football doesn’t need to beat the Super Bowl to win in America. It just needs to keep showing up.

Thanks so much for reading all my World Cup analysis over the last few weeks. There was truly so much to learn and observe.

Grateful that I get to be part of experiences like this and bring it to you guys. Hope you enjoyed the insights!
-Benni

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