India's relationship with football has long been defined by a paradox. Millions of fans in the country follow football clubs, wake up for late-night matches, passionately engage with the sport online and fill sports bars during major international tournaments. By most measures of engagement, football has carved out a meaningful place in India's sporting culture. Yet, it remains a peripheral player in the country's sports advertising economy.
Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026, which kicks off on June 11 (June 12, as per IST), this paradox gained renewed relevance, especially as ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) acquired media rights for a portfolio of FIFA events in India over the next eight years. The agreement gives the broadcaster access to 39 FIFA tournaments between 2026 and 2034. Following the development, ZEE launched Unite8 Sports—a dedicated channel for their sports portfolio.
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Sharing more about the strategic vision behind this move, which signals confidence in football’s commercial potential in India, Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Unite8 Sports, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd says, “For us, the FIFA partnership represents an important step in Z’s long-term investment in premium sports experiences and building a more future-ready and diversified sports business. At the same time, audience behaviour across markets is evolving rapidly, particularly among younger and digitally connected consumers who are increasingly engaging with global sports content through streaming, creators, social conversations and community-led engagement. Football already has deeply passionate audiences across several parts of India, and we saw a strong opportunity to build around that momentum.
Additionally, he states that the FIFA World Cup is one of the world’s most premium and culturally influential sporting properties, with the ability to drive scale, deep engagement, advertiser interest and long-term fandom across television and digital platforms.
The opportunity is evident. Rohit Potphode, Managing Partner - Sports, Gaming, eSports & Live Experiences, India, dentsu highlights, “This is more than a media rights deal; it provides football with a long-term commercial platform in India. For advertisers, continuity is critical. With FIFA properties now having a stable home, brands can plan multi-year partnerships instead of limiting themselves to tournament-specific campaigns.”
But, for all its fandom and global appeal, football must still answer the question that has followed it for years: can it become a Tier-I advertising property in India?
Selling football in a cricket-dominated country
The ingredients for football turning into a premium advertising property in India appear to be in place—a young, digitally-savvy audience, growing interest among brands and access to premium global sporting content. However, the sport is still struggling to convert passionate viewership into sustained advertiser confidence, consistent media value and meaningful ad spends—unlike cricket, which occupies the top spot in brands’ sports marketing plans in India.
Vineet Minocha, Head of Sales, Burman Sports, believes that football is also on the consideration list for most brands, but rarely at the top of the buying order. “Cricket continues to dominate at 89 per cent of total sports economy revenues, leaving little scope for everything else. Football tends to get activated around marquee global events like a FIFA World Cup, rather than as a sustained year-round commitment,” he says.
Football is India’s second-most followed sport, so the demand signal exists. But experts believe that this fandom alone cannot translate into commercial investments. Potphode elaborates, “Cricket continues to offer advertisers scale, frequency, local heroes and decades of proven returns. In contrast, football fandom in India has been fragmented across international clubs, leagues and tournaments, making it harder for brands to build consistent strategies.”
Additionally, the domestic ecosystem has not given brands a stable platform to invest in. “Fandom alone can’t justify marketing spends, especially since it needs to be backed by a robust ecosystem that supports growth. Currently, Indian football doesn’t have that,” Minocha says.
However, as marketers increasingly prioritise audience quality over scale and quantity, football is becoming a compelling proposition. “Its core audience—young, affluent and globally connected—aligns closely with the consumers many brands aim to reach. The sport is best suited for brands looking to build relevance with specific audiences rather than purely chasing mass reach. The opportunity lies less in volume and more in depth of engagement,” Potphode notes.
Saket Choudhary, National Marketing Manager, Hisense India, backs this. “While football fandom has traditionally been stronger in certain regions and international match schedules can sometimes vary from Indian prime-time viewing habits, increasing digital consumption and streaming have significantly expanded its reach and engagement across the country. What makes football particularly valuable is its audience—highly passionate, digitally active and deeply connected to global sporting culture. For brands like Hisense, the opportunity lies in targeted engagement rather than mass reach.”
Several brands in India, which do not traditionally invest in football, are also acknowledging this potential. Manmeet Ahluwalia, CMO, EaseMyTrip, a brand that invests in cricket and other sports as a marketing channel, says, “Football has emerged as a strong and growing property with a highly engaged audience, particularly among younger, digitally connected consumers. From a marketing perspective, the opportunity is not about choosing one over the other. Football allows brands to connect with a distinct audience segment that is globally aware, experience-driven and increasingly interested in international travel, making it a relevant addition to a diversified media strategy.”
While he stresses that global football properties such as FIFA attract sports-driven travellers, offering a travel brand meaningful opportunities to build visibility, Ahluwalia maintains that any investment decision ultimately depends on the audience profile, reach and overall marketing objectives at the time.
The ZEE-FIFA deal and the future of football advertising
The FIFA World Cup is one of the few football properties that combine scale, premium audiences and cultural relevance, making it an attractive proposition for brands. Janavlekar reveals, “We are seeing interest from advertisers across categories, particularly those looking to engage younger, digitally connected football enthusiasts and highly engaged sports fanatics across television and digital platforms. The excitement is not just around the tournament itself, but around the larger opportunity to build meaningful fan engagement.”
Industry leaders believe that the real potential for football marketing in India extends far beyond traditional spot advertising. Minocha highlights, “Football's audience is younger, urban and digitally native—a demographic that responds to cultural alignment, not just commercial messaging. The ROI works best when brands think in terms of community and identity rather than pure reach.”
Potphode echoes the sentiment, adding, “Fans don’t simply watch the game; they follow clubs, players, creators and communities throughout the year. This makes sponsorships, content integrations, fan experiences and digital engagement extremely effective. The brands that succeed in football are those that integrate into the fan journey.”
Brands like Hisense and Budweiser, which are global partners for FIFA World Cup 2026, are adopting this strategy in India.
Vineet Sharma, Vice President – Marketing, AB InBev India shares, “At Budweiser, the FIFA World Cup is far more than a marketing moment–it’s where our identity as a brand for celebrations truly comes to life. In India, we are bringing this global partnership to life through our unified platform, ‘Let It Pour’, which celebrates the passion, anticipation and shared spirit that define the tournament. While TV and OTT remain important, our FIFA plans are not solely reliant on live integrations. Instead, we are focusing on deeper engagement through experiences and meaningful moments that reach fans wherever they are and drive conversations and consumption.”
Hisense India, too, has adopted a 360-degree marketing strategy. Choudhary reveals, “For us, the FIFA partnership is a strategic platform that enables us to connect with Indian consumers through the universal language of sport and entertainment. In India, we have built a comprehensive 360-degree activation strategy spanning innovative outdoor campaigns, experiential retail activations, influencer partnerships, digital initiatives and on-ground fan engagement across key football markets including Kerala, Kolkata, the North East and Delhi.”
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Even as brands treat the FIFA World Cup as a key engagement platform, sustained advertiser interest will depend on how robust the football marketing ecosystem in India can become beyond marquee global tournaments. Turning football into a Tier-I advertising avenue will require more than dependence on a single property. Janavlekar acknowledges this, saying, “We believe globally celebrated sporting events can play a meaningful role in accelerating advertiser confidence around football and premium sports content in India. At the same time, this is not about relying on a single property. Our broader strategy is to build a diversified and future-ready sports ecosystem that combines global tentpole events with strong regional and emerging sports properties. Over time, we believe this creates a far more balanced, scalable and sustainable sports business across platforms.”
ZEE’s acquisition of FIFA rights in India may have brought football back into the spotlight. But for it to command the same advertiser confidence that cricket does, it requires a robust, year-round ecosystem that consistently engages fans, develops local narratives, strengthens domestic competitions and creates reliable audience measurement and sponsorship opportunities.
