While surveys show a wide majority of Americans are not interested in watching the 2026 World Cup, the games still promise to be a sizeable sales opportunity for retailers across jerseys, footwear, sports equipment, video games, and even toys, according to findings from Circana. 

Circana’s point-of-sale data indicates that many categories are seeing a revenue bump in the first quarter and in 2025 as hype arrived around the month-long tournament, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, which kicked off the games on June 11. 

Among Circana’s published findings: 

  • Apparel: In the U.S., international soccer apparel sales grew triple digits in Q1 2026 versus 2025. Menswear leads at roughly 80 percent of total sales, followed by kids and women’s. 
  • Footwear: Circana’s Future of Footwear report forecasts growth for the soccer performance segment in 2026, after declines last year, driven by World Cup releases and higher price points. 
  • Sports Equipment: FIFA‑licensed soccer gear saw triple‑digit growth spikes in the first quarter and in 2025 in the lead-up to the World Cup. The growth was similar to the triple‑digit growth in 2022, another World Cup year. Circana’s data shows soccer equipment earns over $720 million in business in the U.S., based on 2025 sales, with soccer balls accounting for nearly two‑thirds of all soccer equipment. 
  • Video Games: EA Sports FC 26 was the No.8 best-selling game of 2025 in the U.S., with soccer ranking as the third biggest sports video game genre in the U.S. in full game dollar sales during 2025. EA Sports FC 26 players on PlayStation averaged 72 hours of playtime during 2025, according to the Circana Player Engagement Tracker. 
  • Toy Sales: Global soccer-related toy sales jumped 160 percent in dollar value this year through April, now accounting for 9 percent of total sports-related toy sales, up from 4 percent during the same period last year. While trading card games remain in the largest category at 44 percent of sales, others gaining share include building sets (25 percent share), collectible figures (12 percent share), plush, and pockets of other categories as the soccer fandom diversifies. 

Soccer Footwear Boost
Beth Goldstein, Circana’s footwear industry advisor, expects soccer/football performance and soccer/football-inspired footwear to rebound over the next couple of months, driven by the World Cup and boosted by special releases. Fashion trends in recent years have already supported interest in soccer/football-inspired footwear on the lifestyle side. 

“The resurgence of the Samba shoe during the past two years supports the interest in soccer lifestyle footwear,” said Goldstein. “Prior to that, the soccer lifestyle was a pretty dormant category for many years. In 2025, the soccer lifestyle category grew faster than performance — at a rate that has essentially made the two categories equals in terms of sales volumes.” 

Goldstein further noted that with the World Cup being held just before the peak soccer footwear sales season (back-to-school), “there will be opportunity in soccer performance for those that want to take advantage of special releases and promotions and buy a little earlier. So, we will likely see a short-term sales boost.” 

Soccer Jersey Opportunity
On the apparel side, the Circana Omnibus Survey, taken in March 2026, showed more than a third (34 percent) of consumers who plan to buy fashion or athletic performance items ahead of the competition say they are opting for team logo apparel, such as t-shirts, sweatshirts, and outerwear, while 32 percent report that they are interested in player jerseys and in accessories like bags, socks, and jewelry. A similar percentage (31 percent) intends to purchase a team hat or cap.

 


Soccer Interest Growing
Circana’s recently released Voice of Retail report, spotlighting the event’s viewership trends, shopper data, early activations, and category performance, found that U.S. soccer fandom remains in the minority but is growing, with 19 percent of Americans reporting that they are interested in the World Cup. Circana found that soccer fans tend to be younger, multicultural and urban. 

Matt Tucker, executive director for Circana’s sports business, commented that soccer’s recent increase in popularity in the U.S. “really comes down to a mix of big moments, big names and changing demographics.” 

Argentina’s soccer star Lionel Messi joining Major League Soccer (MLS) in 2023 “brought a ton of new attention and curiosity to the league almost overnight,” Tucker remarked. The U.S. Women’s National Team winning gold at the 2024 Olympics also helped keep soccer in the spotlight, in addition to the hype building in recent years over the 2026 World Cup. 

Tucker noted that at the same time, the sport has become more accessible to fans. He said, “MLS has grown a lot over the past decade, growing from 20 to 30 teams, and the NWSL is expanding quickly, too, giving more cities a team to rally around. You can really see that momentum in moments like Denver Summit FC’s first game in 2026, where more than 63,000 fans showed up, breaking the previous record by 20,000 fans.” 

In addition, the growing U.S. Latino population, where soccer is ingrained in the culture, is helping fuel interest and passion for the game across the country. 

Said Tucker, “Put this all together, and it’s clear that soccer is becoming a much bigger part of everyday sports culture in the U.S.” 

Retail Activations
Circana’s findings come as many brands and retailers are coming out with campaigns around the World Cup. 

Adidas, the official partner of the FIFA World Cup 26 and producer of the event’s ball, partnered with Dick’s Sporting Goods on a “Where It All Kicks Off” campaign starring Adidas athletes Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, Trinity Rodman, Patrick and Brittany Mahomes, Juanpa Zurita and Cobi Jones. Adidas also opened 35 World Cup-themed in-store shops inside Nordstrom stores in cities where the matches are being played. 

Nike said it’s holding “pinnacle activations” around the World Cup, spanning “key cities such as Los Angeles, New York and London with additional marketplace experiences taking place in more than 5,000 retail locations globally.” 

Macy’s partnered with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to expand access to soccer for youth in under-resourced communities across the U.S., including the greater New York City metro area, while opening a Macy’s World Soccer HQ section featuring soccer jerseys, training apparel, accessories, and collectibles at its Herald Square flagship and select stores nationwide. 

On Academy Sports’ first-quarter analyst call on June 09, CEO Steve Lawrence said matches are taking place near 40 of its stores, and he told analysts he expects the sales will be incremental rather than replace other merchandise sales. Lawrence said, “Obviously, having the world’s largest soccer tournament on U.S. soil and having people cheer for their team that they do once every four years, come in and celebrate that, I think that’s mostly incremental. I don’t see that as a trade-off for a college or a pro football fan. I think it’s incremental.” 

Image courtesy Nordstrom/Adidas