Fanatics oversaw the highest grossing merch World Cup ever this summer.
That’s no surprise given the 2026 edition had the most teams and games in the tournament’s history and was held on a North American continent ready to spend. Fanatics surpassed total merch sales for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup by the 24th match of this tournament in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. It was the biggest live event — in nearly every way imaginable — that Fanatics has ever worked on.
“The teams were up early. The teams were in bed late. We started a few weeks ahead of the tournament. There were no weekends,” said Luke Fraser, Fanatics SVP and chief merchant. “Everyone was dialed in: maximize fan experience, maximize revenue.”
Perhaps more impressive was the logistical effort required to support the sale of 3 million units in more than 1.5 million transactions across the 220 stadium stores (in the 16 host venues) and 17 official fan festival stores (at 13 official fan festivals) during the 39-day tournament.
Oh, and three host countries meant product moving across borders and through customs. Overseen by SVP/Event Retail Kevin Moore, Fanatics placed 4,000 purchase orders during the World Cup, compared to a normal multiday event which might involve 80 purchase orders.
“We landed where we wanted to land,” said Fraser, without sharing any financial details. “The company is really pleased in both the financial output, the fan experience and the partnership with FIFA.”
How it happened
During the tournament, Fanatics held two calls every day for roughly 70 people with a variety of company functions. What was working? What was the plan? What was the day’s schedule?
A team of buyers and planners huddled in a conference room in Fanatics’ Jacksonville HQ from 7am to 7pm ET each day. That group was particularly busy during the knockout rounds. Fanatics was placing simultaneous “if win” orders for every match’s two teams, then activated one of those orders with pre-staged vendors based on which nation won.
Minutes after the final whistle, Fanatics buyers were hitting go. Products went into production that night, and were on trucks the following morning. In some cases, product was landing in a host city at 10am local time, with the match kicking off at 1pm.
Merch can’t just be shipped willy-nilly to a stadium; arrivals had to be scheduled based on a slew of factors, such as traffic, security, labor … then once at the stadium unloaded and distributed to a dozen, maybe 14 locations throughout the venue. Afterward, it happened all over again.
What sold?
Fanatics ordered about 70% of its product ahead of time, with 30% purchased on the fly — called “chasing” in merch parlance. That’s a higher percentage of chasing than usual, afforded in part by the length of the event. Fanatics might chase just 5% of its product with the two-day Kentucky Derby.
Jerseys were the No. 1 World Cup seller, and Fanatics took a big position on those because they’re not screen-printed and aren’t an easy product to chase. They banked on the usual powerhouse nations’ jerseys, as well as the three host countries. Fanatics sold official jerseys for 45 of the 48 competing countries (Ecuador, Iran and Uzbekistan didn’t provide jerseys for sale).
About half the event’s merch revenue came from World Cup 2026-specific items; the other half was country-specific.
Short-sleeved T-shirts sold well, no shock given the heat. Other items that did well: headwear (U.S. is the top market globally for hats), matchup scarves, and host city product. Plush dolls did not sell as well as Fanatics thought they would.
“For 92 of the 104 matches, they had ample jersey product for both teams,” Fraser said. “That’s a really good stat when you’re looking at 104 matches, 48 teams.”
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