GOAL! As soccer mania rages, brands put their best foot forward
| Photo Credit:
Aaron M. Sprecher
The ongoing FIFA football World Cup brought up a charming old memory — me as a young boy in the 1970s, eating ice cream from a football-shaped plastic container. This was popularly called “ball ice-cream” and marketed by Joy Ice Creams. After eating this delicious treat, I would carefully preserve the plastic football, and dream about the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele.My childhood ball ice-cream indulgence is just one example of hundreds of brands that have been inspired by football — the beautiful game that is watched by around 5 billion people across the world.Footwear for footballFirst and foremost are products such as shoes, which are integral to playing the game. Global brands such as Adidas, Puma and Nike are wedded to football, each in their own way.Take Adidas, for instance. Ever since its founder, Adi Dassler, equipped the German football team with revolutionary lightweight boots featuring screwed-in studs, Adidas has been part of the legend of this game. The Adidas Samba shoe, designed to help footballers train on hard surfaces, has sold over 35 million pairs worldwide. The Puma King and Nike Phantom offer similar stories of football inspiration.Package dealThen there are the brands that may not have a direct functional connect with football, but ride the bandwagon smartly. Many use advertising as the key connection — for instance, Apple’s celebrated advertisement featuring Lionel Messi, or Samsung’s advertisements for its Galaxy 11 phones. Closer home, Tata Motors and Tata Power have both used football beautifully in their advertising.I am most intrigued by brands that have used packaging innovatively to signal their football connect. This year, Coca-Cola has launched bottles shaped like soccer balls, and adorned with bold geometric patterns. These limited edition bottles have become highly desired keepsakes. Tesco, the global groceries and general merchandise retailer, has wrapped lettuces in a clear packaging with hexagonal prints, making the whole resemble a football. What lovely ideas!Footballers and clubsLabels promoted by famous footballers constitute yet another stream of brands that ride the fame of this game.Christiano Ronaldo has his famous CR7 brand spanning apparel and shoes, and since expanded to hotels and gymnasiums.David Beckham has his grooming line House 99, launched in partnership with global beauty brand L’Oreal. Apart from hair- and skincare, the line interestingly also features beard-care and tattoo-care products, which smartly reflect Beckham’s personality. Lionel Messi has entered the world of fashion with The Messi Store, which offers premium garments with a sporty feel.Then there are the football teams and clubs, which are globally famous brands themselves. Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Manchester United are perhaps the most popular and have huge following — Real Madrid, for instance, has over 600 million followers on its social media channels. The clubs’ branded merchandise, including football jerseys, are hugely sought after and command premium pricing. They also earn significant amounts of money from sponsorship tie-ups with other brands, broadcast and media rights for their games and ticket sales.In India, too, legendary football teams such as Mohun Bagan, East Bengal and Mohammedan Sporting have traditionally had passionate armies of followers. In more recent times, with the launch of our own India Super League (ISL), teams such as FC Goa, Bengaluru FC and FC Jamshedpur are well on their way to becoming big brands.One game, many brandsFinally, there are the brands built around football. There is Umbro, the English brand specialising in football and rugby sportswear. Brazil won its first World Cup title wearing Umbro kits, and many other champion teams have worn them too. Stone Island, the Italian brand with a close association with football culture, partnered with New Balance earlier this month to launch a new collection for “on and off the pitch”. Then there is CP Company, which is the fashion partner to famous football clubs such as Manchester City. The brand has a huge fan following in some English football sub-cultures.There are also many other brands of football-inspired streetwear, caps and perfumes.With the amazing popularity of the beautiful game, I think we will see many more football-inspired brands and collaborations in the future. When more than half the population on our planet is in such deep love with a sport, can marketers be far behind?(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and bestselling author)Published on June 29, 2026
