Unilever is connecting brands with fans for its biggest-ever sports sponsorship at the FIFA World Cup 2026™. From stadiums to stores to online streams, Personal Care is turning match-day passion into brand engagement beyond the final whistle.

• FIFA World Cup 2026™ is set to reach 6 billion global fans, making it one of the largest marketing platforms in the world
• As Official Personal Care Sponsor, Unilever is activating 35+ brands across 120+ markets, supported by 180+ limited-edition products to drive global demand
• More than 50,000 creators are set to go live with cross-market and cross-channel content. Unilever has built House of Fresh™, in-person creator hubs in three host cities, equipped for social-first content creation

Unilever Personal Care is launching its biggest-ever sports partnership as Official Personal Care Sponsor of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Over 39 days, the most socially connected event on the planet will see 48 football teams play 104 matches. Some 10 million people are set to attend matches, with live programming and streaming expected to reach a global audience of 6 billion passionate fans.

More than 35 Unilever brands including Dove, Dove Men+Care, Rexona and Axe will be activating in over 120 markets, tapping into cultural moments, delivering premium experiences and connecting with fans to bring freshness, confidence and care to every stage of the tournament.

Transforming sports sponsorship into a content and commerce platform

Beyond its scale, Unilever’s Personal Care sponsorship is an opportunity to turn global visibility into commercial impact.

“This activation reflects how we’re engaging with sport not just as sponsorship, but as a platform to build brand desire and cultural relevance to drive superior growth,” says Unilever Personal Care’s Vice President of Integrated Brand Experience, Afke van de Klashorst.

Evolving from a reliance on logos and traditional media spend, Unilever is leveraging a diverse network of influencers and content creators and social-first storytelling to tap into fan culture and conversations online.

“Our ambition is for our brands to show up in spaces where fandom lives and in ways that are authentic, native to social, and meaningful by bringing freshness and confidence to match-day moments that matter most for fans, players and spectators,” Afke says.

Unilever has ensured its personal care products will be available in millions of retail stores around the world, with 180+ limited-edition products, powered by unmissable displays, prime shelf space and on-pack promotions delivering premium experiences, driving Desire at Scale, increasing brand relevance and unlocking superior growth.

4 ways our Power Brands are connecting with fans and staying true to their brand DNA

1. Dove: #KeepHerConfident

Dove is showing up with a social-first campaign that puts the next generation of female football fans and players front and centre by championing every girl who loves the game and aims to be a movement to keep them playing. ‘The Game is Ours’ campaign kicks off with a film built entirely from the sounds of girls’ bodies playing the sport they love, to show girls’ joy live from matches across social, out of home and more.

2. Dove Men+Care: Care for your skin like you care for the game

Bodies go through a lot in the heat of the game: hugs, sweat and tears from wins, losses and last-minute penalties. And Dove Men+Care is here for it, inviting men to care for their skin like they care for the game.

3. Rexona: It won’t ever let you down

Every World Cup is full of emotional highs and lows and sweat-inducing emotions. On-pitch dramas, disappointment and unexpected moments of match-day joy. True to its brand promise to provide 24/7 odour protection, Rexona’s activation has a simple message – it won’t ever let you down.

4. Axe: Smell your best when you look your worst

Not all World Cup heroes wear their team kit. With its trademark humour, Axe’s campaign taps into fandom that’s grassroots and fun, featuring real supporters, leveraging social to share stories of their dedication and questionable costumes, all while ensuring they smell good.

Creator-powered, social-first storytelling in experiential branded spaces

For the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Unilever is calling on the social-first storytelling skills of sports fans, players and sportscasters, as well as creators in the lifestyle, fashion and beauty space, with more than 50,000 creators activating for our brands during the 39 days of the tournament.

“Football today lives in real time, in culture and on social platforms,” acknowledges Romy Gai, FIFA’s Chief Business Officer. “And this tournament is designed to be experienced, shaped and shared by fans wherever they are.”

To enable creator advocacy, Unilever has built House of Fresh™, in-person experiential hubs in three host cities: Mexico City, New York and Miami.

Branded and designed for content creation that’s social-feed ready, these spaces provide influencers with the environment and technology they need to turn live fan experiences into social storytelling for native platforms, seizing the opportunity to capture cultural moments with content that connects Power Brands like Dove, Dove Men+Care, Rexona and Axe with the football community to drive brand engagement and social selling.

Culturally relevant content creation at speed and scale

To complement House of Fresh’s physical activations, The Locker Room is a 24/7 social media hub where creators, community experts and football strategists can deliver reactive content across platforms like TikTok and YouTube in real time, at the speed of culture.

“Working with partners like Unilever helps turn moments on the pitch into meaningful conversations off it, reaching new generations and making the power of football more accessible, inclusive and impactful than ever before,” says Romy.

And that’s a win–win for FIFA, football and Unilever, giving its brands the chance to extend engagement beyond live matches and stay relevant with fans long after the final whistle.

AI, supply chain and infrastructure delivering on Desire at Scale

Equally important to driving Desire at Scale is having the tech infrastructure and supply chain to deliver on it.

Personal Care’s AI Content Studio and Social Studios created more than 18,000 assets for 120 multi-brand, multi-market campaigns.

Unilever’s supply chain team has used data and AI-driven forecasting to lock in production cut-offs for 180 limited-edition products to ensure that the right products reach the right markets at the right time.

And a global tech and digital infrastructure providing cloud hosting, data analytics, cyber security and compliance is the backbone that allows Unilever Personal Care’s FIFA World Cup 2026™ activations to operate on a global scale and with real commercial impact.

Converting conversations and cultural relevance into business impact

By combining the emotional reach of live sport with the engagement and shareability of social media, Unilever Personal Care’s sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ is redefining how brands show up at global events.

From pitch to purchase, every touchpoint is designed to convert attention into action, delivering growth, strengthening brand relevance and proving that modern sponsorships can drive both cultural impact and measurable ROI.