Sponsor Emile Heskey

Press Release · New York, NY

The world's largest athlete marketing platform reports 277 million views from soccer creators in the last eight weeks, with 1,552 bookable soccer athletes ready for brand activation across 15+ countries. Clients including Walmart and USA Today are already activating ahead of kickoff.

OpenSponsorship, the world's largest athlete marketing platform backed by Serena Williams and David Blitzer, today released proprietary data showing the scale of the creator opportunity around the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off Thursday, June 11th in North America. With brands including Walmart and USA Today already activating soccer creator campaigns through the platform, OpenSponsorship is positioned as the go-to partner for brands looking to win the biggest sports marketing moment of the decade.

The platform's soccer roster has generated 277 million views in the last eight weeks alone, with 276 viral posts clearing 100,000 views across just 86 athletes. OpenSponsorship has 1,552 publicly listed and bookable soccer athletes across 15+ countries, including 893 in the United States, alongside athletes from the UK, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Brazil, France, Nigeria, and more.

With 48 nations competing in the largest World Cup in history, brands face a common challenge: the biggest names are either off limits or out of budget. OpenSponsorship's data shows that mid-tier and creator talent routinely out-reaches their follower counts by 50 to 100x — giving brands access to the same passionate fan audiences at a fraction of the cost of global stars.

“The World Cup is the biggest commercial moment in sports marketing history, and the brands that win it will not be the ones who waited for the tournament to start. Our soccer athletes have already generated 277 million views in the last two months. The audience is engaged, the creators are ready, and the window to activate at the best rates closes when kickoff happens.” — Ishveen Jolly, Founder & CEO, OpenSponsorship

OpenSponsorship's recent Walmart Soccer Saturday campaign demonstrates what's possible when brands activate the right soccer creators. The campaign — which featured AA9Skillz, Brittany Wilson, Matty Farias, Sean Garnier, and others — generated the following:

USA Today is also activating soccer creator campaigns through OpenSponsorship ahead of the World Cup, leveraging the platform's roster of 1,552 bookable soccer athletes to reach highly engaged audiences across the US, Canada, and Mexico — the three host nations for the 2026 tournament.

“When creators genuinely love a sport and an event, it shows in the content. The Walmart campaign worked because the athletes were authentic soccer fans first and brand partners second. That authenticity is exactly what drives the kind of engagement numbers brands cannot get from traditional advertising.” — Ishveen Jolly, Founder & CEO, OpenSponsorship

OpenSponsorship's data shows a clear opportunity curve for World Cup brand activation. Athletes are available now at pre-tournament rates, with demand and pricing expected to rise sharply once the group stage begins June 11th.

• Kickoff — June 11: the group stage is the viral window, where trending athletes are still affordable before bidding wars begin.
• The Final — July 19, MetLife Stadium: the highest-profile moment for brands that have already built creator relationships.

Brands that lock in creator partnerships before the tournament begins benefit from lower rates, more authentic content, and deeper athlete relationships that extend beyond the tournament window. OpenSponsorship's white-glove managed service handles sourcing, contracting, content briefing, delivery, and ROI reporting end to end.