Bank of America is probably not the first name that springs to mind alongside football, or soccer. Yet the US bank last month inked a deal as an official sponsor of FIFA World Cup 2026, the tournament’s first global bank sponsor.
The deal comes as Bank of America is keen to build a stronger brand around the world and marks a statement of intent about its ambitions.
“It is absolutely part of a global push. A critically important part of our organisation is our efforts on the international front. We’re in growth mode,” said David Tyrie, chief digital officer and chief marketing officer for BofA.
Tyrie said sport is a key area to target, partly because it is live, unpredictable and draws on an audience’s emotions.
“Sports is a place where you have human connections. It’s a happy place, it’s about large audiences, it’s about diverse demographics, it’s about authentic live events where you don’t know the answers. That’s sports,” he told IFR in an interview.
The men's World Cup is held every four years and is the world's biggest single sport event in terms of audience. The 2026 tournament is being hosted by three countries for the first time – the US, Mexico and Canada.
“The World Cup is religious for the fans, it’s an entirely different beast. It allows us a very powerful place for the emotional connections to build the brand,” Tyrie said.
The span of the World Cup is part of the appeal. In 2026 there will be 16 host cities, with 11 in the US, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and Houston. The tournament is expanding to 48 teams from 32 previously and will feature 104 matches from June 11 to July 19.
Win-win?
BofA hopes the sponsorship deal opens doors for investment bankers, wealth managers and commercial bankers, as well as the expected mass promotions for consumer bank and credit card customers.
Advising sports teams and investors has become big business and spans ownership, investment, stadium financing, raising capital, media rights and advice on how to generate revenues from fans.
BofA is one of the leading investment banks in the field alongside the likes of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Barclays and smaller advisory firms such as Raine Group and Inner Circle Sports. The sports and media rights industry is estimated to be worth more than US$400bn, and Bloomberg estimates there was US$25bn of sports-related M&A in 2023, a third consecutive record year.
Private equity firms are increasingly big investors alongside billionaire individuals – and US sports franchises and European football clubs are typically top of shopping lists, as shown by the complex £4.2bn takeover of English football club Chelsea in 2022.
“This brings opportunities for the entire bank, especially our investment bankers, to deepen our connection with customers and clients globally. It’s such an exciting conversation to have and I hope this will keep some of our competitors awake at night,” Tyrie said.
He said the partnership comes against a backdrop where communications, marketing and financial services are all dramatically changing in their use of technology and customer expectations.
“I’m here to build the Bank of America brand and to drive business results. The only way to build the brand is to have great customer experiences and the only way to drive results is by having great customer experiences. So it all centres on having a client-first mentality.”
Industry sources said BofA’s World Cup deal is likely to be one of the biggest ever for a single sports event and may have cost US$100m or more. BofA and FIFA declined to comment.
FIFA, for its part, is also likely to have been keen to get a well-known US name as partner, as it tries to widen football’s popularity in the US and after the organisation was embroiled in a corruption scandal in 2015 and was criticised for hosting the past two men’s World Cup tournaments in Russia and Qatar.
Spencer Fox, a brand strategy consultant based in London, said the deal could be a win-win for BofA and FIFA. “For Bank of America, in a sector disrupted with new fintechs, it gets a boost of energy and a global platform on which to build awareness and engage with a mass audience,” Fox said.
“For FIFA, partnering with a brand known for responsibility, stability and consistency brings reflective benefits after a troubling few years of reputation issues.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the deal with BofA showed “credibility and trust” for FIFA had been restored, including in the “strategically important” US market.
"Halo effect"
Banks have for years had big sponsorship deals across sports, including naming rights on US stadiums, often in their home city.
Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, is home to the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and MLS’s Charlotte FC and the naming rights deal is reported to have cost US$140m for 20–25 years. Citigroup is reported to have spent US$400m to name Citi Field, home to the New York Mets baseball team. There is also Chase Center for Golden State Warriors in the NBA and Chase Field for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Barclays Center for the Brooklyn Nets, and other stadiums adorned by Truist, US Bank, M&T and Citizens.
BofA said the World Cup 2026 deal complements its global and local market strategies, which are shown by its stadium in Charlotte and other sports partnerships, such as with the annual marathons in Boston and Chicago.
Tyrie said having a strong brand can have a “halo effect” around a company.
“If your brand favourability is good, it’s like having a higher tide and means everything the organisation does is easier. If brand favourability is good it makes people’s jobs much easier,” he said.