Language Settings
Select Website Language

Study 65,000 Junk Food Ads Shown to Fans at 2026 World Cup

1 hour ago

7

0

Researchers say Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Powerade and Lay's logos appeared 65,722 times during live play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, filling 16% of match time.

Football fans watching the 2026 FIFA World Cup were exposed to what researchers describe as a "constant bombardment" of junk food and drink advertising, with brand logos and products appearing 65,722 times during live play, a new study has found. The analysis, carried out by researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford, covered all 104 matches of the tournament hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The team built an artificial intelligence tool to identify advertisements visible to television viewers while matches were in progress, most of them displayed on pitchside advertising boards and elsewhere around the stadiums. It focused on brands producing food and drink that is high in fat, salt or sugar, the definition used by the UK government. Those brands were on screen for a combined 28.1 hours across the tournament, equal to just over 16% of the total time the ball was in play.

All of the advertising counted appeared on the international feed shown to every country broadcasting the matches. The figures do not include commercials aired during pre-match coverage, half-time breaks or the in-match hydration breaks. On average, the model recorded 576 visible junk food and drink advertisements during each individual game.

Coca-Cola accounted for the largest share, appearing 21,893 times. McDonald's followed with 13,915, ahead of the energy drink Powerade at 12,777 and Lay's, the crisp brand sold as Walkers in the UK, at 12,087. All four are official partners of FIFA, football's world governing body, and Powerade is owned by the Coca-Cola company.

The study also measured other categories of what it called "potentially harmful" advertising and found food and drink promotion far outweighed them. Junk food and drink logos appeared around seven times more often than those for alcohol and prediction market brands, roughly 10 times more often than gambling firms, and almost 25 times more often than cryptocurrency brands.

"Repeatedly connecting unhealthy food and drink brands with football, excitement and national identity can make these brands familiar and normalise their consumption," the researchers argue. McDonald's advertising was among the most visible during Spain's victory over Argentina in the World Cup final.

FIFA points to health campaigns

Responding to the findings, FIFA said the overwhelming majority of its revenue is reinvested in football, including projects aimed at promoting health and wellbeing that draw thousands of participants. A spokesperson said the organisation "works with a broad, global portfolio of partners, all of which are subject to its governance and compliance frameworks."

The spokesperson added that FIFA's social impact campaigns, among them one called Be Active, "delivered messages of unity, inclusion, health and friendship to audiences on an unprecedented scale throughout the World Cup."

The brands named in the study were also approached for comment. Coca-Cola, McDonald's and PepsiCo, which owns Lay's, did not reply to requests.

The research adds detail to a long-running debate over the presence of food and drink sponsors at major sporting events, quantifying how often such branding reaches viewers during the moments they are most engaged with the action. Because the counted advertising ran on the shared international feed, the exposure applied to audiences in every broadcasting market rather than being limited to the host nations.

2026 FIFA World Cup, junk food advertising, Coca-Cola World Cup, McDonald's sponsorship, University of Bristol study, FIFA partners, pitchside advertising, high fat salt sugar

Click here to Read More
Previous Article
F1 to Cut Maximum Race Distance by 15km From 2027
Next Article
Kimchi Bacterium May Help Flush Nanoplastics From the Body

Related Sports Updates:

Are you sure? You want to delete this comment..! Remove Cancel

Comments (0)

    Leave a comment