A new investigation has revealed the staggering prevalence of unhealthy food and beverage advertising during this summer’s World Cup, with viewers exposed to more than 28 hours of promotional content for high-fat, salt, or sugar products. Researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford utilized a custom AI tool to monitor ads visible during live play across the tournament’s 104 matches, which took place in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
The study found that logos and products for such brands appeared 65,722 times throughout the event. On average, there were 576 visible advertisements for these products per match, accounting for just over 16% of total match time. These ads, which appeared on pitchside boards and around stadiums, were part of the international feed and reached global audiences, bypassing local commercial breaks and pre-match coverage.
Coca-Cola led the visibility rankings with 21,893 appearances, followed by McDonald’s with 13,915, Powerade with 12,777, and Lay’s—marketed as Walkers in the UK—with 12,087. All four companies are official Fifa partners. When asked for comment, a Fifa spokesperson defended the organization’s portfolio, stating that revenue is reinvested into health and wellbeing initiatives and that their social impact campaigns reached audiences on an unprecedented scale. Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and PepsiCo did not respond to requests for comment.
Comparing these figures to other sectors, the report noted that junk food promotion was significantly more common than other forms of potentially harmful advertising. These brands were displayed seven times more frequently than alcohol or prediction market firms, 10 times more than gambling operators, and nearly 25 times more than cryptocurrency brands. Researchers argue that repeatedly linking unhealthy products with the excitement of football and national identity serves to normalize their consumption.
Although the UK implemented a ban on television advertisements for unhealthy foods before 9:00 PM starting in October 2025, these international stadium displays remain outside the reach of such legislation. This creates a regulatory gap where viewers are exposed to promotions for burgers, crisps, and sugary drinks during hours when they are otherwise restricted.
Public health experts have criticized this disconnect. Greg Fell, president of the Association of Directors of Public Health, described the situation as a clear loophole. He compared the current industry tactics to those historically used by the tobacco sector, noting that marketing efforts are frequently aimed at children to secure future market growth. With NHS data from 2024 indicating that 15% of UK children are obese and 26% are overweight, the urgency for global regulatory collaboration is rising.
Dr. Elisa Becker, a co-author of the report, emphasized the contradiction between global sporting values and corporate marketing strategies. She stated that while the world faces a crisis of childhood obesity and diet-related disease, the most prominent sporting events are saturated with advertisements for the very products contributing to these issues. She added that sport should function as part of the solution to public health challenges rather than acting as a major platform for unhealthy product marketing.
In response to rising health concerns, the UK government has recently introduced stricter rules for school meals, including a ban on deep-fried items and a mandate to increase the provision of fruit, vegetables, fiber, and whole grains. Experts remain focused on the need for a broader international approach to restrict the marketing of high-calorie products in global sports. The report also notes that or just over 16% of the total time that matches were being played, and the study also found that those adverts were visible for 28.1 hours’ time across the tournament. The report also notes that in response to the findings, Fifa argued that the vast majority of its revenue is put back into football, including on projects promoting health and wellbeing in which thousands of people participate. The report also notes that there is acres of evidence demonstrating that governments around the world are legislating very hard at the moment to limit advertising of junk food. The report also notes that it requires worldwide collaboration because obesity is a problem everywhere. The report also notes that advertising is one of the key mechanisms by which harm from obesity happens.
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