Lately, it seems like every few weeks we’re talking about a major sports event. That’s no accident. From arenas to apps, sports are where attention concentrates—live, emotional, and shared across the globe.
This time, it’s the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup stepping into the spotlight. And yes, it’s worth another conversation. Because while the players prepare to chase the title, advertisers should be preparing to chase something else: global visibility at scale.
The 2025 edition is no ordinary tournament. Expanded to 32 teams and hosted across 12 U.S. cities, it’s designed to deliver spectacle—and with it, an international audience tuning in across time zones and devices. For brands looking to insert themselves into high-attention moments, the Club World Cup is one of the year's most promising opportunities.
Unlike national tournaments, club football comes with its own flavor of global fandom. Think Real Madrid supporters in Tokyo, Boca Juniors fans in New York, or Man City ultras in Lagos. These loyalties transcend geography. When these teams play, they activate diasporas, stir rivalries, and pull in viewers far beyond their home countries.
This is what makes the Club World Cup especially powerful from an advertising perspective. It’s not just about big matches—it’s about club-level emotional investment playing out on a world stage. That combination of local passion and global relevance is gold for marketers.
But it’s not just the what. It’s the how.
Viewership today is fluid. Games are streamed on connected TVs in living rooms, clipped and replayed on mobile feeds, debated on desktops, and memed on social media. The Club World Cup won’t be experienced on one screen—it will unfold across many, often simultaneously.
That means the brands who win during this tournament won’t be the ones who simply buy time—they’ll be the ones who follow the user journey. Who understand that CTV needs to pair with mobile, that desktop banners need to reflect live outcomes, and that timing isn’t a nice-to-have—it’s the whole game.
What makes this tournament especially interesting is its timing and format. Unlike a World Cup or continental championship, the Club World Cup lands in a space where competition for ad budgets isn’t overcrowded. There’s room for brands to stand out, especially those looking to engage audiences in LATAM, Europe, and key growth regions like Southeast Asia and Africa.
Add in the fact that the tournament spans a month, with knockout tension and storyline progression, and you’ve got an ideal arc for branded messaging. Campaigns can evolve alongside the tournament itself—starting broad, getting sharper as big clubs advance, and culminating in the final with high-stakes creative that resonates.
Advertising around live sports isn’t just about impressions. It’s about association. About timing. About signaling that your brand moves in rhythm with the moments your audience cares about. When done right, it doesn’t feel like an ad—it feels like you showed up where you were supposed to.
So yes, we’re talking about sports again. But really, we’re talking about behavior. About attention. And about using data, channels, and creative to meet your audience at the exact right moment.
This summer, that moment has a name: the FIFA Club World Cup.