Client: FIFA (2026 World Cup)
The Challenge:
Create a compelling campaign that positions the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a world stage for unifying global Black Cultures—showcasing soccer as a source of joy, identity, and global belonging, while unlocking new pathways for fandom, representation, and participation within Black communities across the U.S.

Audience:
Black Americans have the largest untapped fandom potential. While this audience has a lower fan base compared to other nations, the community drives outsized cultural influence and interest growth. Black youth, families, creatives, and community leaders across the Americas, especially Millennials and Gen Z “Experience Seekers” aged 18 to 35 who shape national culture through music, fashion, sport, media, and storytelling but remain underrepresented and underserved within Football/ American soccer infrastructure.

Some Background:
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the biggest in history—co-hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with 48 teams and 16 host cities across North America. For the first time in decades, the global game will play out on America’s main stage.
And yet, for many Black Americans, soccer still feels peripheral. Despite its global Black icons—from Pelé to Mbappé, the sport in the U.S. has long been tied to pay-to-play systems, suburban elitism, and cultural disconnects. While nearly 5.7MM Black Americans already self-identify as soccer fans, millions more are potential fans—not by lack of interest, but of representation, access, and intention.
The 2026 World Cup offers a “once-in-a-generation” moment to bring soccer to North America’s biggest sports cities, and tap into the fandom cultures of their communities.

Helpful Insights:
Only 12-15% of Black Americans consider themselves Soccer fans, compared to ~30% in Canada, and 80-90% of Black Citizens in the UK, France, Germany, and Brazil.

Soccer interest among Black Americans is rising, especially with the growth of MLS, visibility of Black international stars, and community-based initiatives (e.g., Black Star, Soccer in the Streets).

65% of Black soccer fans say Black player success deepens their connection to the sport.

Top platforms for content discovery include YouTube, TikTok, and Facebook, where Black fans over-index compared to all fans.

Representation gaps remain: 1 in 3 Black fans feel their communities lack access to youth programs, coaches, and media voices in the sport.

Your Task:
Create a bold campaign that positions soccer/football as a game of Black joy, heritage, and future potential, making the 2026 World Cup feel like a representation of identity, rather than a foreign affair. The solution should build bridges between the global football community and local Black identity, while promoting pride, play, and participation in the sport itself.
You can explore a range of any possible activations– TV, experiential pop-ups, music and celebrity collabs, digital storytelling and creator engagement–  all with the goal of injecting soccer into the culture, and promoting aspiration, and accessibility. The goal isn’t just short-term awareness, but lasting cultural integration.

Your idea will be judged on how original, creative, and actionable it is.