FIFA Turns Creators Into World Cup Broadcasters

YouTube and FIFA launch a global creator program reaching 350M+ subscribers | Streaming in Short World Cup Special – W24

Jun 12, 2026

⏱️ This week’s streaming news in MENA and around the world, in 5 min.

🏆 CREATORS: YouTube and FIFA have launched the first-ever YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, bringing together creators, athletes and celebrities for a live football event during the World Cup. More in The Lab’s Pick.

📈 INSIGHTS: New research from Bango found that 41% of Americans don’t know where they can watch the FIFA World Cup 2026. At the same time, 18% plan to subscribe to a new platform specifically for the tournament. More in my Analysis section.

⚽ STREAMING: Streaming platforms are using the FIFA World Cup 2026 to promote much more than live matches. More in my Analysis section.

The Rest is Football on Netflix: Gary Lineker & Alan Shearer and Micah Richards bringing you topical debate, strong opinions and outrageous tales from their careers.

✈️ INFLIGHT: Emirates will stream all 104 FIFA World Cup matches live onboard its flights through Sport 24 on its ice entertainment system. Coverage will run from the opening match to the final, allowing passengers to follow the tournament in real time while travelling.

🤝 BUNDLE: talabat and TOD by beIN have launched a bundle giving users access to all 104 matches alongside a talabat pro annual subscription. The offer shows how lifestyle bundles are becoming a key growth strategy for streaming platforms in MENA.

📊 INSIGHTS: Ipsos Synthesio has launched a live social media tracker for the FIFA World Cup 2026, allowing users to monitor conversations, trends and sentiment in real time throughout the tournament. The dashboard tracks fan reactions, emerging storylines and social buzz across teams, players and key moments.

🌍 AFRICA: Orange and New World TV have partnered to bring the FIFA World Cup 2026 to Max, Orange’s super-app. The agreement will make all 104 World Cup matches available across nine African markets, expanding access to premium sports content for millions of football fans across the continent.

👟 ADS: Nike has launched a new World Cup campaign featuring football stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland alongside celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott, LeBron James and Ted Lasso.

YouTube brings creators to the World Cup

What happened?

👉 YouTube and FIFA have announced the first-ever YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, a live football match featuring creators, athletes and celebrities. At the same time, YouTube unveiled a global roster of creators who will cover the FIFA World Cup 2026 from inside the tournament.

Key details:

The Creator Cup will take place in New York on July 12 and will be streamed exclusively on YouTube.
More than 20 creators from around the world will attend matches and create content throughout the tournament.
Coverage will include matchday experiences, local culture, food, travel and behind-the-scenes moments.
The selected creators represent a combined audience of more than 350 million subscribers.

Why it matters?

🎯 The World Cup is no longer just a broadcaster’s event. FIFA is now giving creators an official role in how fans experience the tournament. For MENA, it’s also great to see Noor Stars representing the region on one of the biggest global creator programs ever launched around a sporting event.

41% of Americans don’t know where to watch the World Cup

👉 New research from Bango found that 41% of Americans don’t know where they can watch the FIFA World Cup 2026, showing growing confusion as sports rights become fragmented across multiple platforms.

📍 The study also found that 18% of Americans plan to subscribe to a new streaming service specifically for the tournament, rising to 36% among Gen Z and 37% among Millennials.

💡 As sports rights become increasingly distributed across broadcasters and streaming platforms, discoverability is becoming as important as the content itself. For many fans, finding the match may soon be harder than watching it.

Streamers are using the World Cup to promote more than Football

👉 Streaming platforms around the world are using the World Cup to showcase a wider range of content, from football documentaries and original series to video games and daily analysis shows.

📍 Netflix is launching an official FIFA World Cup video game with daily updates based on real tournament results, while platforms such as Prime Video, Disney+, Shahid orAl Mashhad are expanding their football-related content with documentaries, archive content and dedicated World Cup programming.

💡 The World Cup is becoming much more than a live sports event for streamers. It’s a marketing moment that helps platforms drive engagement across their broader content libraries and keep fans connected between matches.

🎤 CANNES LIONS is back

Cannes Lions, the world’s largest event for the advertising, marketing and creative industries, returns to Cannes, France, from June 22–26, 2026.

If you’re attending, don’t miss the invitation-only Ipsos Lounge Series: TikTok x Ipsos – Re-Energizing The Mid-Funnel, where Ipsos and TikTok will explore how brands can keep consumers engaged throughout the purchase journey.

🤣 The Hot Seat / Dans La Sauce, with Paul de Saint Sernin, Marcel Desailly, Christophe Dugarry, Frank Leboeuf, Emmanuel Petit, Robert Pirès, Presnel Kimpembe, Steve Mandanda, Blaise Matuidi, Adil Rami, Samuel Umtiti, Hakim Jemili, Waly Dia, Kheiron, Pablo Mira, Kyan Khojandi (Netflix): Comedians hold nothing back as France’s 1998 and 2028 World Cup champions take the hot seat in a brutal football roast.

⚽ On July 12, 1998, France defeated Brazil 3–0 in the FIFA World Cup Final to win its first-ever World Cup title. Played at the Stade de France in front of more than 80,000 fans, the match saw Zinedine Zidane score two iconic first-half headers before Emmanuel Petit sealed the victory in stoppage time. More than just a football match, France–Brazil 1998 became a defining moment in French sporting history, uniting the nation and cementing a generation of players as legends of the game. More than two decades later, it remains one of the most memorable World Cup finals ever played.