It's now just a few months until June, when the 2026 Men's World Cup will be held across three countries for the first time: the USA, Canada and Mexico. The Women's World Cup will follow next year in Brazil. For official tournament sponsors and FIFA partners, the World Cup is a magnet for publicity. However, such official partnerships are open to only a select few companies. Anyone wishing to capitalise on the hype surrounding the World Cup should carefully check whether their advertising is legally permissible: Trade mark law, competition law and, where applicable, local laws in the host countries, as well as FIFA regulations set limits on how the event is allowed to be referenced in advertising, and violations can quickly prove costly.
The World Cup as a FIFA brand
The World Cup is organised by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) and is far more than just a major sporting event – it is a global brand. Unlike the Olympic Games, for which the name and symbol are specially protected in Germany by a separate Act on the Protection of the Olympic Emblem and Olympic Names (OlympSchG), there is no comparable special law for the World Cup. Neither in Europe nor in the host countries.
However, this does not alter the fact that FIFA wishes to secure exclusive rights to the commercial exploitation of the World Cup – from media rights and marketing to licensing and ticketing – to the greatest extent possible, and consistently protects this exclusivity through its own intellectual property rights and contractual arrangements: With an extensive international trade mark portfolio, it protects such things as official tournament names, logos, slogans, graphic elements and product designs against unauthorised use. In doing so, FIFA pursues a brand strategy that is also broad in scope: The protection covers numerous classes of goods and services, from food and drink to financial services, musical instruments and means of transport. This means that FIFA's trade marks are also protected for many goods and services that one might not immediately associate with the World Cup or football.
FIFA has protected numerous signs
FIFA's protected signs for the 2026 and 2027 World Cups include:
- the official logo of the 2026 FIFA World Cup "26"
- the official slogans for the 2026 World Cup: "WE ARE 26", "SOMOS 26" and "NOUS SOMMES 26"
- the mascots for the 2026 World Cup: Clutch the Bald Eagle, Maple the Moose and Zayu the Jaguar
- the official logo of the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup "BRAZIL 2027"
- the FIFA World Cup trophy
- host city designs
This list is by no means exhaustive. The official logo and the official slogan of the 2027 Women's World Cup, "GO EPIC", are, for example, still being reviewed by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office in Germany. Details of which other symbols and designs FIFA has protected, and the terms of use that apply to them, can be found in the official FIFA guidelines, which have already been published for the 2026 World Cup.
"Red card" for ambush marketing
Only FIFA and its official partners are permitted to use the protected signs, known as "Official Marks". Anyone who uses identical or similar signs for their own commercial purposes without permission is engaging in so-called ambush marketing (also known as "free-riding") and risks facing legal consequences. For example, FIFA took legal action against the use of the "Qatar 2022" and "World Cup 2022" trade marks by an unofficial partner, although it was unsuccessful in that specific case. Caution is nevertheless advised, particularly when it comes to the direct use of protected terms (direct ambush), references to the World Cup (association) and advertising within the physical or media environment of the matches (intrusion).
Descriptive advertising statements that are generally permitted without any specific reference to FIFA
Even though this means that the official World Cup signs are off-limits in many goods and services sectors, it doesn't mean that all advertising references to the tournament are prohibited. Creative designs with a general football or country reference and neutral terms remain permissible – provided there is no risk of confusion with the official signs and the public is not led to believe that there is a sponsorship relationship or any other connection to FIFA. However, anyone using terms or logos that resemble the "Official Marks" – such as phrases like "WE ARE 2026" – or planning ticket promotions without a licence should carefully check whether this could infringe trade mark rights.
The risk is significantly reduced if the chosen signs are clearly distinguishable from the official signs – for example, through the use of original word elements or a deliberate modification of graphic elements. Purely descriptive statements relating to the World Cup are generally permissible, provided they merely describe the characteristics of one's own products and do not contravene public policy. The key point is that there must be no direct association between the products or services in question and FIFA, while establishing a mental connection to the World Cup event is generally acceptable. The use of general terms such as "football" or "World Cup", "fan discounts" and advertising featuring generic football imagery or references to the host countries is therefore unlikely to pose any problems in most cases.
Special features of the host countries: the USA, Canada and Mexico
Anyone planning advertising campaigns directly in the host countries must also take account of country-specific particularities. For example, Canada has already announced that so-called "brand-exclusive clean zones" will be established within a two-kilometre radius of the stadiums in Toronto and Vancouver. In addition, the US, Canadian and Mexican authorities have launched a joint initiative to monitor and investigate unfair commercial activities surrounding the World Cup. Even without specific legislation, local measures taken by the organising committees and authorities thereby effectively create a protective shield for FIFA. Similar measures for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil have yet to be announced, but are highly likely.
Legally compliant advertising concepts that do not fall foul of trade mark law
Anyone whose advertising comes too close to FIFA's protected signs or gives the impression of an official partnership risks facing claims for injunctive relief, information, removal and damages. Companies should therefore have World Cup-related advertising measures – particularly those featuring specific keywords or visual references – reviewed by legal experts at an early stage. This ensures that the advertising campaign does not inadvertently infringe upon FIFA's rights, that there is no risk of misleading the public, and that it can therefore be launched in a legally compliant manner.
We will keep you up to date in our blog series on Football & Law with the latest articles on this topic. You will find articles such as "Between neutrality and sanctions: Political conflicts in sports" or "World Cup kick-off: When football and law meet“.
This article was prepared with support from Ms Kristina Balakina.
