9 Ads per Minute: FIFA Cup 26 – "the price of the beautiful game"

Advertisers now embed brands directly into live sports broadcasts, bypassing traditional ad breaks and regulations.

A new study from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford reveals that viewers of the 2026 FIFA World Cup were exposed to an unprecedented amount of branding for unhealthy food and drink, alcohol, and gambling. Researchers analyzed 172.6 hours of live match coverage and recorded over 93,000 visible instances of these products, with unhealthy food and drink brands accounting for over 70%. The analysis, conducted using the Isambard-AI supercomputer, found that harmful product branding was present in every match and visible for nearly a quarter of live play. Four major global brands—a soft drink, a fast-food chain, a sports drink, and a crisps brand—were responsible for 65% of all recorded harmful commodity logos. The research highlights that FIFA distributed match footage with embedded advertising globally, even to countries where these products are restricted or illegal, failing to utilize available technology that could have replaced or removed certain brands for specific territories. This widespread exposure, especially concerning for children and young people, has drawn criticism from public health advocates and lawmakers.

The FIFA World Cup's broadcast model prioritized a single global feed of embedded pitch-side advertising, ignoring national regulations for unhealthy products, alcohol, and gambling. This failure to implement available virtual replacement technology means brands were shown in countries where they are illegal, creating significant legal and ethical concerns and potentially laundering the image of harmful products to vulnerable populations. This approach sets a precedent for how global sporting events can be leveraged as powerful, unavoidable advertising platforms, raising questions about the responsibility of event organizers in mitigating the public health impact of sponsored content.

This research signals a critical failure in global sports event advertising standards, suggesting a potential shift toward prioritizing broad commercial reach over adherence to diverse national laws and public health considerations. The study's findings are likely to fuel calls for stricter regulations on embedded advertising within live sports broadcasts and pressure FIFA and other major sporting bodies to adopt more responsible commercial practices. The lack of action on readily available technology to tailor advertising by region indicates a deliberate commercial strategy that overlooks potential harms, setting a concerning benchmark for future events.