“That was a big driver as we started to look at the World Cup as an opportunity: We have been engaged in this space and to us as a brand, it’s really important that we are super authentic, and just bolting something new on doesn’t always feel great for us,” said Allison Kolber, vp of integrated marketing for The Home Depot. “The long history that we’ve had with MLS and reaching those customers that we know are younger, diverse sports fans, and to digitally engage a fast-growing audience base, it gave us a lot of confidence to be able to add on our World Cup presence as we moved into next year.”
AB InBev, meanwhile, has been with MLS off and on since its founding in 1996, with its Michelob Ultra signing a new deal with the league last year. In the run-up to the 2026 World Cup, Michelob Ultra has run various “summer of soccer”-focused campaigns through partnerships with MLS, US Soccer, and the Mexican National Team that stretched through last year’s U.S.-based Conmebol Copa America, various Concacaf tournaments, and this year’s FIFA Club World Cup.Â
With AB InBev having sponsored the last men’s and women’s World Cup in 2022 and 2023 and slated for duty again next year—with big soccer events coming back to the U.S. for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 and the Women’s World Cup in 2031—Michelob Ultra has formed a strategy around its ties to MLS. A big portion of that game plan to capture more than 80 million U.S. soccer fans has involved Lionel Messi, who featured in both a Super Bowl ad and an Inter Miami-focused ad for the FIFA Club World Cup this year.
Final minutes
Adidas has also been with MLS since 1996 and has found its rhythm with the league by tapping into the local communities and culture of each market, determining how soccer defines itself in each place, and tailoring community programs, brand activations, house parties, and even the playlist.
During recent MLS All-Star events in Austin, Texas, Adidas’s Short said the company took advantage of having MLS senior leadership, player agents, community partners, and club leaders in the same room to discuss the state of the business ahead of the World Cup.