Featuring Tony Hawk, IShowSpeed, Squid Game, Ronaldo – and a Couch
After FIFA presented its updated Digital Football Strategy on May 28th, followed by major announcements in the football gaming environment such as the launch of FIFA Heroes and the new arcade game FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition on Netflix Games, FIFA is sharing insights into its marketing and communications creative strategy and activation throughout the tournament.
The core and centerpiece to activate the FIFA World Cup 2026™ dedicated gaming portfolio is the ‘FIFA Gaming Couch’, a new marketing IP developed by FIFA and its creative lead agency Jung von Matt SPORTS. FIFA’s aim is to establish a lasting cultural crossover between football, gaming and entertainment and connect with a generation of fans and fandom far beyond the traditional sphere of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and its established global community.
FIFA’s strategic goal and growth strategy is to reach more gamers with more games, and the FIFA Gaming Couch has a new living room vibe for more cultural exposure and creativity, aimed at providing both new access and an inclusive environment around the FIFA World Cup 2026™ .
To bring the FIFA Gaming Couch to life and propel it into the world’s digital feeds, FIFA created a six-week road trip from Los Angeles to New York City engaging with creators, new communities and host cities along the way. The content and creator-led roadtrip was narrated around an entertaining film script inspired by American sitcoms of the 90’s, like King of Queens or Friends.
A delivery guy called Dean drove a FIFA branded mail delivery truck containing the FIFA Gaming Couch started in LA and moved on to Las Vegas, then the Grand Canyon, Dallas, and along Route 66 to Miami. It’s now on the last stretch of the journey all the way to New York for the final weekend of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. The content, which was produced and distributed by FIFA, has reached more than 60 million views to date, based on hundreds of published content pieces on FIFA’s owned and partner channels, working with more than 70 creators as well as Netflix and Netflix Games.
Along the way, Dean the delivery guy encounters challenging situations and meets exciting creators and sporting greats, including skateboard legend Tony Hawk and former Borussia Dortmund and German national team player Marco Reus. Other creators and familiar faces involved in the campaign include Brazilian footballer and Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo (“R9”), streamer and content creator IShowSpeed, German NFL player Jakob Johnson, Canadian former footballer Lauren Sesselmann, and the international creator brand Yes Theory.
Beyond the partly-scripted social first content, FIFA also hosted exclusive pop-up events in West Hollywood, at the Netflix House in Dallas, and in Miami, building a connection between fans, creators and the public to its new games including FIFA Heroes, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, Roblox, Rocket League and Football Manager. In Dallas, FIFA and Netflix created a crossover with one of Netflix’ most prestigious entertainment IPs, Squid Game.
Dean’s final stop will be at the Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center in New York City for the final weekend of the tournament. As a final highlight of the journey, FIFA and Netflix Games will be hosting the “Couch Cup”, a FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition creator tournament, in which eight elite couch athletes will face off against each other, including actor and creator Jacob Romero as well as actress and singer Kiawentiio.
“Football and gaming both have deep, passionate cultures, and both have the power to shape wider pop culture and pull in new fans. That’s the driving idea behind everything we do with FIFA Digital Football, and the FIFA Gaming Couch is a perfect example. We’re investing in storytelling to stretch our original IP into a rich cultural platform for fans and brands alike”, says Christian Volk, Director Gaming & Esports at FIFA.
Alongside lead agency Jung von Matt SPORTS for IP creation, content narrative, design and communication, experiential agency Episode1 was responsible for the pop-up events in L.A., Dallas and Miami, and BDX Media supported with content production and creator management.
Some of the most relevant creators out of the global squad to join the FIFA Gaming Couch were Victoria Brito, Tyler Vitelli, Alexei Morita, Ronald Monte, Sky Carrizo Rhino, Haris Hussaini, Spencer X, Nimi Mehta and the Ventura Twins.
The media strategy for the campaign was inspired by FIFA‘s strategic partnerships with TikTok and YouTube.
Executive Summary of FIFA’s digital football and gaming strategy around the FIFA World Cup 2026:
In mid-June, FIFA released the highly anticipated game FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition, developed by Delphi Interactive, on Netflix Games.
The mobile version of FIFA Heroes, a creator-led arcade fantasy football game, was released globally on 24 June and quickly became one of the most celebrated game launches of the summer. It has dominated the app charts in the UK, Turkey and Spain, among others, and will soon be available on PC and consoles.
Players are able to experience the FIFA World Cup 2026™ through official IP integrations in top-tier games such as Rocket League and Football Manager 2026, further cementing the tournament’s place in the global gaming community.
With the start of the FIFA World Cup™, FIFA and GameFam announced a special event integrated into “FIFA Super Soccer” on Roblox, one of the world’s most influential gaming platforms.