Social media is a core part of the football experience. It is where fans can keep up with the latest news, enjoy watching the key moments and engage with creators-related content who have built communities around it. At the 2026 FIFA Men's World Cup, the creator economy forms an essential part of the digital conversation.
On 11 June, the 2026 World Cup kicked off in North America. But the conversation didn't start with the tournament's opening whistle. Engagement with #FIFAWorldCup content steadily increased as anticipation for the tournament. In 10 days only, June had already accounted for 39% of the hashtag's total engagement.
Source: Comscore Social, Content Pulse, Content contains: #fifaworldcup, Platforms: Instagram, Facebook, X and TikTok, 1 January -11 June, 2026Extraction date: 14 June 2026.
The opening ceremony day, on 11 June, generated a peak of 88.7 million total actions 1 across the major social media platforms, +38% engagement compared with the opening of Qatar 2022 2. With social media more central to the World Cup experience than ever before, content creators play a key role in bringing a more personal human dimension to the conversation.
Creators at the Centre
Given their influence among younger audiences, creators are moving from amplifying tournaments to becoming a key part of how brands and media companies connect with fans. At the 2026 World Cup, brands and media companies are building their strategies around creators from the start.
DAZN's DAZN48 initiative exemplifies this tactic. The company has partnered with one creator from each of the 48 qualified nations to tell the story of the tournament through local voices and perspectives.
TikTok has taken a similar approach, with a programme of 30 Creator Correspondents from 11 countries to cover the tournament fan queues, training sessions, fan zones and more.
YouTube, has also selected a global network of creators who will attend matches and produce content for their audiences throughout the competition. Along with FIFA, they are also hosting the YouTube FIFA Creator Cup, a football match featuring creators and athletes that will be streamed worldwide from New York on 12 July 2026.
This shift is also visible in the rise of creator-led media platforms such as Brazil’s CazéTV, which has secured major World Cup rights and is competing directly with traditional broadcasters. By combining creator talent with live sports rights, these players are redefining how audiences engage with premium content and illustrating how the creator economy is becoming a central part of the sports media landscape.
Analysing the countries whose influencers generated the most engagement around World Cup content on opening day, Latin America led the creator conversation. Brazil led with 28%, followed by Mexico (16%) and Colombia (9%) rounds off the top three.
It is also interesting to see countries that have not qualified for the tournament still playing a significant role in the social conversation. As an example, Italy ranked fifth with 7% of total engagement, or Bangladesh (6%) helped by singer Sanjoy’s performance at the opening show.
Source: Comscore Social, Content Pulse, Content contains: “fifaworldcup”, “fifa world cup”, “FIFAWC2026”, “Mundial 2026”, “Mundial2026”, “Mondial 2026”, “Mondial2026”, “Mondiale 2026”, “Mondiale2026”, “Copa mundial”, “CopaMundialFIFA”, “Copa do mundo”, “CopaDoMundoFIFA”, “Coupe du monde”, “CoupeDuMondeFIFA”, “Coppa del Mondo”, “CoppadelMondoFIFA”, “FIFA Weltmeisterschaft 2026”, “FIFAWeltmeisterschaft2026”, “ كأس العالم 2026 ", “كأس العالم 2026 ", Platforms: Instagram, Facebook, X, TitkTok and YouTube (likes + comments), max. 5000 results, Influencers-All, 11 June, 2026Extraction date: 15 June 2026.
Players are Also Creators
Most footballers are also creators, with their own audiences.
The recent rise of New Zealand defender Tim Payne illustrates how quickly those audiences can grow. After the Argentinian creator Valentín Scarsini described him as the "least-known World Cup player" and encouraged followers to support him, Payne's Instagram account surged from around 4K followers on 26 May, when it was still a personal profile, to 5.6 million by 2026 World Cup opening day 3, surpassing the population of his country.
This case attracted organic participation from brands including Google, McDonald's and Duolingo in Payne's thank-you video, which generated 3.6 million total actions. In the post, Payne also credited Duolingo with helping him learn Spanish.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tim Payne (@timpayne__)
A post shared by Tim Payne (@timpayne__)
Source: Comscore Social, Content Pulse, Tim Payne (NZ), Instagram, selected content, 28 May, 2026
Modern media mix requires modern measurement
Creator-driven audiences move fast and behave differently across platforms and contexts. Those dynamics are hard to predict but measurable. For brands looking to maximise their World Cup investment, a cross-platform view that includes creators is essential for understanding where audiences are and how they engage across today's media mix.The creator economy has become structural rather than supplementary.
To learn more about measuring creator impact across platforms register for our upcoming The State of Social 2026 or contact us.