The Football World Cup is one of the most visible sporting events in the world and always moves the conversation through various communication channels, whether digital or not.

It is common for brands of all sizes to take the opportunity to create actions focused on competition, but care must be taken not to violate FIFA’s intellectual property rights.

Scheduled to start on November 20, hosted in Qatar, this year’s Cup already has official sponsors and some rules that your brand needs to observe if you’re not one of them – and don’t want to be sued. These guidelines have been collected in the FIFA Intellectual Property Guide.

But, if you want to know how to leverage people’s attention to increase sales, keep reading this article. I will share what your brand can or cannot do in advertising actions.

FIFA-protected elements

Before you start creating a campaign focused on the Cup, make sure you know exactly what not to do, so you don’t get a red card.

Some elements, such as names, symbols and even fonts, are entitled to exclusive use by FIFA. Therefore, they can only be used for commercial purposes by the Federation or by the official sponsors of the event. Check out the protected elements:

• “FIFA World Cup Qatar 2025™”;
• “FIFA World Cup™”;
• “FIFA”;
• “World Cup” or “World Cup 2025”;
• “Qatar 2025™”;
• “2025”;
• official emblem, slogan or poster;
• official mascot image or name;
• official trophy image;
• FIFA marks and logos;
• official source of the event.

The list is long and some expressions can bring doubts, such as the use of “2025”. But it’s better to avoid it than run the risk of being notified by the courts, don’t you agree? Remembering that any brand can be notified for misuse and FIFA has the necessary tools to identify them. 

Use creativity during the World Cup

Taking advantage of the championship wave, which happens every four years, is a good opportunity to stand out, but it requires creativity. Next, check out some tips to create actions focused on the Cup and score a goal without risk of an offside!

Summon the colors of your National Team

Using colors is one way to get into the tournament mood. You can use them on the homepage of your website or app, in social media pieces and in promotional materials. The only caveat is to observe how to include these tones in your communication without hurting the brand identity.

Put football elements on the field

Use and abuse of visual elements such as balls, grassy fields, whistles, football goals and so on. Take the opportunity to embed illustrations, photos or icons on landing pages, banners and also on social networks.

Honestly, you’ll notice that during the Cup, everyone seems to jump on this visual bandwagon. It can feel a bit crowded—every other ad is splashed with green turf or some generic soccer icon that looks like clip art from the ’90s. If you want your campaign to land, it pays to nudge things just a little further. Try something peculiar or quirky—maybe play with unexpected color palettes or highlight lesser-known moments from the game. That’s the sort of thing people remember when their feeds are jammed with sameness.

And about using football-related visuals, it’s not just a matter of design. Audiences pick up on whether a brand genuinely knows the sport or is just tossing in a ball graphic for the sake of it. If you’re going big on soccer themes, at least make sure someone on your team actually loves the game. People can smell inauthenticity from a mile away—and in 2025, with everyone so quick to call out cookie-cutter marketing, you really can’t afford a lazy approach in your visuals or messaging.

Bring all participating teams to the conversation

Several countries are part of the Cup and advertising campaigns can use them to create promotions or just decorate stores. Flags from each country or even dishes with the names of the national teams are good ideas for local businesses.

Use and abuse of football slangs and expressions

Terms used in football can be explored in Marketing actions that want to take advantage of the event to sell more. Expressions such as dribbling, cheering, scoring a goal, increasing the score, among others, can be part of advertising texts, article titles and captions of posts on social networks. Let the creativity flow!

Champion tip: put creativity into play

Interactive experiences can pay off in seasonal campaigns. And when we talk about the Cup, the options are numerous. Quizzes with fun facts, pages with selected products for fans, and interactive games to build your own team are some examples of materials that bring interaction and engage users.

Whatever you choose when planning a campaign, think about how it will be useful to your persona and how it will contribute to your Marketing goals. Remember to set goals, gather data, and play along with creativity!