October 25: McDonald’s is ending its sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup after 32 years as part of an overhaul of its marketing model, according to Adweek.
The partnership began with the 1994 World Cup in the United States. It comes months after the company ran its biggest World Cup campaign at this summer’s tournament, an effort created by Wieden+Kennedy New York that covered more than 110 countries and was McDonald’s biggest marketing push of 2026.
The returns do not match the investment. On the company’s Q2 2026 earnings call, CFO Ian Borden said the campaign “boosted the business and generated excellent systemic excitement” but “underperformed our expectations.” Growth in the US also slowed.
McDonald’s said the decision was “unrelated to recent headlines about the partnership.” It will continue to invest in sports through other channels.
The departure comes at a sensitive time for FIFA. President Gianni Infantino faces internal challenges over governance, the Folarin Balogun red card ruling and his ties to political leaders who appear to be more important to him personally than his ties to football leaders, and the scandal surrounding the attempted sale of all FIFA commercial rights.
Losing one of its oldest business partners, even for reasons the company says are unrelated, is not a strong message to send to global brands.
For McDonald’s, the move reflects a wider issue facing FIFA’s main sponsors. A World Cup gives global reach, but is expensive and concentrated in just a few weeks every four years. Brands are increasingly weighing it up with year-round deals with leagues, clubs and individual athletes that offer more consistent activation.
Contact the writer of this story at nick.webster@insideworldfootball.com