Ahead of the kick-off of the World Cup football tournament on Thursday, global health advocates are demanding that FIFA, the international football federation, ends its partnership with Coca-Cola by 2030. 

Coca-Cola has sponsored the FIFA World Cup, the world’s most-watched sporting tournament, since 1978. Its sponsorship agreement, which makes up about 2% of FIFA’s income, is up for review in 2030.

The “Kick Big Soda Out” movement has written to FIFA president Giovanni Infantino, demanding that the federation publicly commits to ending its sponsorship agreement with the Coca-Cola Company and establishes a partnership policy that excludes sponsorship by ultra-processed food and beverage companies from 2030 onward. 

“During the 2026 tournament, up to six billion fans – many of them children – will see marketing that links football’s biggest stars with sweetened beverages linked to obesity, Type 2 diabetes and other diet-related diseases,” the letter notes.

“This is sportswashing: using the power of football to normalise unhealthy products. Football deserves better. Fans deserve better. Forty years ago, FIFA stopped accepting dangerous tobacco advertising. Sweetened beverages deserve the same treatment.”

Excess sugar consumption is one of the key drivers of the rising rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest-growing global health threats, with an estimated 537 million adults living with diabetes today.

In 2020 alone, 2.2 million new cases of Type 2 diabetes worldwide were attributed to consumption of sugary beverages, with the highest proportion of cases in young adults aged 20-30.

Obesity has more than doubled among adults and quadrupled among children and adolescents since 1990.

‘Flouting co-hosts’ national regulations’

The World Cup is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, and all three co-hosts are battling to address the health impacts of rising consumption of sodas and ultra-processed food.

“Canada and Mexico have enacted front-of-package warning labels on products with excess sugar, salt and fat – and Mexico has led the way on health taxes on sweetened beverages, along with the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador,” according to a media release from Kick Big Soda Out.

“These measures reflect years of deliberate public health advocacy to curb consumption of the unhealthy products Coca-Cola markets to millions of fans, especially children.”

Coca-Cola’s prominent presence at the 2026 World Cup “flouts national regulations designed to protect public health”, undercutting the work that countries are doing to reduce sugar consumption and improve the health of their citizens.

Sportswashing

“Big Soda has perfected a singular con: exploiting the greatest athletic stages to sportswash a product linked to rising rates of diet-related disease,” said Sandra Mullin, senior vice president at Vital Strategies, which is leading the campaign.

“Big Tobacco was banned from major sporting events because sponsorship legitimised harm. Big Soda deserves the same treatment. The World Cup should not launder Big Soda’s image. It’s time to put people before profits.” 

Coca-Cola is also the leading plastic global polluter, followed by PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone and Altria. Approximately 21-34 billion plastic bottles from nonalcoholic drinks are polluting the ocean every year, primarily from carbonated soft drinks and water.

Kick Big Soda Out has amassed over 522,000 supporters and the backing of 97 organisations since its launch during the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Coca-Cola is also the leading plastic global polluter, followed by PepsiCo, Nestlé, Danone and Altria. Approximately 21-34 billion plastic bottles from nonalcoholic drinks are polluting the ocean every year, primarily from carbonated soft drinks and water.