With the 2018 FIFA World Cup taking place against the backdrop of a rapidly changing world, a world where people increasingly expect corporations to stand for something more than just profits, it seems like an appropriate time to take a look at which World Cup sponsors are leaning into this cultural tension and activating their sponsorships in a purposeful way.
Few dispute that the Beautiful Game is the leader in global sports when it comes to the numbers. As Nielsen noted in its 2018 World Football Report: “More people play and watch soccer than any other sport in the world, with +40 percent indicating that they are either interested or very interested in the sport. Although the average global football fan is a well-educated, married, 25- to 34-year-old male, over a third of all fans are now female. Football fans outscore the average person in terms of media consumption and intended purchases meaning they are a more valuable target market to sponsors and marketers.” In terms of reach and relevance, soccer as an engagement platform is a consumer marketer’s dream. In terms of fan passion, soccer is unparalleled.
FIFA, the global governing body of the sport, has seen its fair share of scandals in recent years, which has negatively impacted its public reputation and perceived value to the world — as highlighted in enso’s World Value Index, where FIFA ranked only 151 out of 200 brands surveyed (Disclosure: enso is a strategic partner of my firm, Purpose+Sport). As a result, FIFA has found the going tough in filling its sponsorship portfolio with the typical types of brands associated with the World Cup.
In an effort to become more purposeful, FIFA recently launched its FIFA Foundation, through which it is directing its investment in growing the game and facilities available for soccer at a community level. The Foundation hosted the FIFA Foundation Festival in Moscow’s Red Square during the World Cup and will bring young representatives from 48 non-governmental organisations from 38 countries to the World Cup to exchange, learn and play football as a continuation of a concept that started in Germany at the 2006 World Cup.
The Soccer for Good community is rapidly gaining traction
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Existing in parallel to the formal FIFA structures is the Soccer for Good community, which is rapidly gaining traction as the number and proficiency of organisations using soccer as a platform to deliver positive social outcomes grows the world over. Foremost amongst these organizations is streetfootballworld, the unofficial governing body of Soccer for Good that represents the collective interests of over 130 organisations around the world doing the most important work in this space (Disclosure: Purpose+Sport advises both streetfootballworld and its initiative, Common Goal). Streetfootballworld members address a wide range of social issues, including those covered by Sustainable Development Goals 1, 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 16 and 17, positively and directly impacting the lives of over 2.5 million young people each year through soccer.
In short, the ecosystem exists for those sponsors wanting to leverage and amplify their organizational purpose through their soccer sponsorships.
It is therefore not that surprising to see a trend-setting brand such as Coca-Cola being the first to add a layer of meaning, or purpose, to its sponsorship of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Through its Pass the Happiness initiative, Coca-Cola has partnered with Walmart, One World Play Project — a leading soccer for good B Corporation operating in the informal soccer for good sector — and singer Jason Derulo to donate 100,000 “unpoppable” soccer balls to Soccer for Good organisations in multiple local markets. It’s a great example of how a FIFA World Cup Sponsor has partnered with a Soccer for Good organization and a retail partner to establish a partnership around the World Cup that is being leveraged through a purposeful lens (Disclosure: I was involved in seeding the initial vision with Coca-Cola that evolved into the Pass the Happiness partnership while Chief Catalyst at One World Play Project.).
Coca-Cola followed up Pass the Happiness with an insightful response following Sweden’s game against Germany, when Swedish player Jimmy Durmaz received an onslaught of racial abuse on his social media channels. As Brad Ross, Director of Global Football Marketing at Coca-Cola, so aptly commented, “It was truly sad to see this level and type of abuse he received. But humanity came to the table, and started the #backadurmaz movement. One of our brand’s core values is inclusivity — I am so proud of how Coca-Cola responded to this with purpose and a strong point of view.”
Another major global brand that has attempted to use its association with soccer in a purposeful way around World Cup time is Mastercard. Although not a 2018 World Cup sponsor, Mastercard — a longtime sponsor of soccer through events such as the UEFA Champions League and previously FIFA — tried to capitalize on the 2018 World Cup through its Food for Goals campaign. The effort committed the brand to donate the equivalent of 10,000 meals to the World Food Programme for children in Latin America for every goal scored by Lionel Messi and Neymar, two of the World Cup’s biggest stars; it unfortunately backfired, being seen as self-serving by many fans. Mastercard’s poor execution of what was otherwise a well-intentioned move highlights the need to work with partners who understand this space deeply and are sensitive to what will and won’t resonate with fans.
Brands are not the only ones that have the opportunity to lead efforts to activate purposefully around World Cup time. Through a partnership with Facebook, Common Goal — a streetfootballworld initiative created to empower soccer players to donate at least 1 percent of their salary to Soccer For Good programs — are leveraging the star power of some of the players that have signed up to Common Goal, including Juan Mata, to run fundraising campaigns with Facebook to engage fans into doing good through football. Streetfootballworld also recently launched Play Proud — an initiative focused on creating safe places for LGBT youth to play — to coincide with the World Cup and Pride Month; and has partnered with FOX Sports, which will be profiling stories connected to Play Proud during its coverage of World Cup in the USA.
Only 1 in 12 2018 FIFA World Cup sponsors activated their sponsorships more purposefully
To the best of my knowledge, only one of the 12 2018 World Cup sponsors have embraced the opportunity to do good through their sponsorship activation. In a world where, as per enso's 2018 World Value Index, 81 percent of people believe that business can be a positive force for social and environmental change, this seems like a lost opportunity. If there are other sponsor activations out there and I just haven’t seen them — despite digging for them — please let me know. Is this because the event is taking place in Russia — a market where the “for good” sector is not well developed, because the US Men’s Team did not qualify, because of concerns around the public perceptions of FIFA … or is it because the sponsors were caught napping and have not yet understood the changing world, where what you stand for is as important as what you sell?
Things are, however, changing for the better across the soccer sector. A number of football governing bodies have recently launched initiatives focused on leveraging their platform to address important social issues. UEFA’s Together #WePlayStrong (which just won at Cannes), MLS’s #SoccerForAll and the FA’s Football for All initiatives, all focused on building stronger sense of community and access to soccer for all, particularly girls, are examples. Qatar 2022’s Generation Amazing initiative and the USA/Mexico/Canada 2026 World Cup Organising Committee’s focus on legacy and sustainability are also showing signs of progress, and are both commitments that will provide World Cup sponsors with interesting opportunities to activate purposefully. And some of the big soccer clubs are moving in the right direction, too, as evidenced by the commitments being made in the Soccer for Good space by an increasing number of clubs including City Football Group, Real Madrid, Portland Timbers; and Common Goal’s first soccer club member, Danish Superleague club FC Nordsjælland.
Particularly interesting is the just announced fan-driven initiative called 26x26, which aims to connect residents, fans, athletes, investors and philanthropic groups in a soccer-driven effort to revitalize communities across the USA, Canada and Mexico in the ramp up to 2026 FIFA World Cup; and in the process, positively impact the lives of 1 million youth over the next 10 years. 26x26 is being made possible by a unique coalition comprising one of the largest US community development organizations (LISC), a prominent fan-led British soccer philanthropy group (Lionsraw), the US’ largest soccer fan group (American Outlaws) and a global powerhouse in children’s health (UNICEF).
So, while sponsors of this year’s FIFA World Cup have definitely missed out on an opportunity to leverage their sponsorships to make the world a better place and connect with soccer fans in a meaningful and relevant way, I predict that the next two World Cups will be a very different affair when it comes to purposeful activation of sponsorships.
As the saying goes: “Time to get in the game,” World Cup sponsors.
This post first appeared on the Purpose Collaborative blog on July 2, 2018.
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Neill Duffy is CEO and founder of 17 Sport, the world’s first sports-impact company operating at the intersection of sport, business and purpose.
Published Jul 10, 2018 3pm EDT / 12pm PDT / 8pm BST / 9pm CEST