Diageo, the first spirits company to partner with FIFA, is making a significant bet on the World Cup 2026. Despite host nations' early exits, strong viewership and bar traffic underscore the partnership's prescience. Spirits brands are increasingly challenging beer's dominance in sports, with Diageo leveraging its expertise from F1 and NFL. The strategy focuses on promoting key brands like Don Julio, Casamigos, and Smirnoff through watch parties, bars, and homes, rather than just stadiums, where the real volume lies. Limited-edition bottles and celebrity ads amplify reach, targeting diverse demographics like Latino drinkers for Buchanan's. This massive global marketing push aims to attract new consumers amidst declining alcohol consumption trends, with executives cautiously optimistic about the "halo" effect.
Rivals at the Game, Casamigos at the Bar - FIFA World Cup™ 2026 Suite
EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JUNE 13: (L-R) Keegan-Michael Key and Gabrielle Union attend Rivals at the Game, Casamigos at the Bar - FIFA World Cup™ 2026 Suite at MetLife Stadium on June 13, 2026 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Casamigos)
England’s World Cup dreams were crushed by defending champions Argentina in a semi-final nail bitter. And yet another British squad is still at play for the tournament: Diageo, the first-ever spirits company to ink a massive partnership with FIFA.
Diageo’s big bet on the FIFA World Cup 2026 is looking prescient, aided by a strong showing from the three host nations, which all reached the Round of 16.
While Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. were all knocked out at that stage, viewership and traffic at bars, restaurants and watch parties have been strong. An estimated 42 million watched the American squad lose to Belgium, setting a record U.S. viewership for the tournament. All four quarterfinals exceeded prior highs in the U.S., even without the American squad on the field.
The Liquor Industry’s Big Global Bets On Sports
For more than a decade, spirits manufacturers have made inroads into sports arenas, a drinking occasion long dominated by brewers like Anheuser-Busch InBev, Molson Coors and Heineken. They’ve opened up dedicated liquor-focused sports bars and developed hit specialty drinks ranging from Woodford Reserve’s bourbon Mint Julep at the Kentucky Derby to Grey Goose vodka’s cocktail the Honey Deuce at the U.S. Open.
The industry’s titans have also inked partnerships with leagues, an area where Diageo has extensive expertise through former partnerships including Johnnie Walker’s relationship with the motorsport league Formula One and a five-year spirits sponsorship with the National Football League.
But as with F1 and the NFL, much of the marketing magic comes from promoting cocktails and brand consideration outside of the stadiums where FIFA’s games are held. While FIFA estimates that 6.25 million fans attended games in the stadiums through July 8, there have been 20 billion video views across FIFA’s platforms and millions more watching on television.
“The scale of the World Cup is really what excites us at Diageo,” Rick Pineda, vice president of global sports at Diageo, tells me during an in-person interview. “It’s really at the watch festivals, watch parties at home, and in bars and restaurants where the volume and the opportunity lies.”
Diageo owns more than 200 brands, but when the liquor giant announced its FIFA partnership in May 2025, it signaled that the company’s World Cup activities would focus on just a few drinks: Don Julio and Casamigos tequila, Buchanan’s and Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky, and Smirnoff vodka. There are also some regional considerations at play. In Canada, the focus is on Casamigos, Smirnoff and Don Julio’; while Smirnoff and Johnnie Walker are promoted in Brazil, and in Colombia, the emphasis is on Buchanan’s.
“We crafted a deal that allowed us the flexibility to be able to lean into our strengths in each of these markets,” says Pineda.
In the stadiums, Diageo has created a few select cocktails to promote, including the Casamigos Margarita, the Smirnoff Lemon Soda and the Buchanita, the latter made with Buchanan’s 12-Year-Old Scotch and pineapple juice. The drinks were designed to be widely accessible to fans and easy to mix so that stadium staff can make the cocktails at a rapid pace.
“Casamigos definitely is focused on the margarita,” says Roderick Blaylock, vice president of Casamigos U.S. “And we’ve expanded out in different formats of margaritas,” he says. Casamigos has recently launched ready-to-drink canned cocktails and larger, premixed margaritas in classic lime and spicy varieties. “Consumers are choosing convenience,” says Blaylock.
With far more of the consumer engagement occurring outside of the live events, other touch points beyond these expanded Casamigos formats include limited-edition World Cup-branded bottles for Don Julio, Buchanan’s and Smirnoff, as well as television ad spots that feature talent including Puerto Rican singer Rauw Alejandro and former football stars Thierry Henry and Roberto Carlos.
The World Cup will prove to be a big test for CEO Dave Lewis, a former executive at U.K. supermarket chain Tesco and consumer-products giant Unilever, who ascended to the role on January 1 after Diageo’s former CEO, Debra Crew, departed after two years in the role amid sales pressures in the U.S. and China.
Globally, the alcohol sector is facing tough market conditions, as more health-conscious consumers, the rising popularity of weight-loss drugs and higher living costs have put pressure on spirits, beer and wine. In June, drinks research firm IWSR published an especially bearish projection that global alcohol consumption volume will continue to decline for years to come, before finally returning to growth in 2031.
Julian Garcia, vice president of Don Julio U.S., says the brand has been ingrained in sports culture, including a high-profile appearance in the New York Knicks locker room after the NBA team celebrated its first title in 53 years. Garcia says the 1942 limited-edition bottle and its gold design was inspired by the FIFA World Cup Trophy.
The brand has also promoted the La Verde cocktail, which features lime juice, cucumber and coconut water, a drink that’s “inspired by, of course, the green of the pitch and the green of the World Cup trophy itself,” says Garcia during a virtual interview. “It’s a very nice, refreshing tasting cocktail for the summer.”
Buchanan’s, meanwhile, has struck a chord with Latino drinkers, particularly with the brand’s Pineapple Blended Scotch, which debuted in February 2023 and is the Scotch brand’s first-ever flavored spirit. Jamie Young, vice president of Buchanan’s U.S., told me during a virtual interview that 40% of the nearly 70 million Hispanic and Latino people in the United States are fans of the World Cup. “That’s really who we’re talking to,” says Young.
Linda Lagos Morales, brand director of Buchanan’s U.S., says the close ties to the Latin community stem from its founder. Entrepreneur James Buchanan, who created the brand in 1884, focused his early export efforts on the Americas.
“We are a Scotch whisky with a Latin soul,” says Lagos.
Global Brands, Marketed Locally
Earlier this year, Buchanan’s debuted four limited-edition bottles that were designed by the Los Angeles apparel company Kids Of Immigrants. “Each of them are intended to tap into the passion point that the consumer has with soccer,” says Lagos, adding that the artwork depicting the stadiums and streets where the sport is played and other elements that connect the brand to the tournament.
In Miami, Casamigos is getting a big push at nightclubs and restaurants like Mango’s Tropical Cafe, though FIFA’s local impact received some mixed logistically reviews. David Wallack, owner of Mango’s, lamented a decision made by Miami’s city government to close the famed Ocean Drive where the restaurant sits in Miami Beach from June 11 through July 19.
“There’s two things going on, the joy of the competition and the difficulty of the political situation,” Wallack says.
Wallack says there has been a lot of local excitement from Brazilian, Colombian and American fans, as well as international fans from all regions that visit Miami throughout the summer. Though Wallack had hoped that more teams from the Americas would make a deep run in the tournament—only Argentina managed to qualify for the quarterfinals, joining six European squads and one from Africa—he was still bullish on the buzz that could come from the World Cup.
“The afternoon tends to be a little heavier on beer, and the night tends to be a little heavier on cocktails,” says Wallack.
At Diageo, executives are tight-lipped on the financial impact of the World Cup, but have said, albeit cautiously, that they are pleased with the World Cup’s halo. In Canada, the tournament will prove to be a big test for Michael Samoszewski, who became president of that region in September 2025 after more than two decades in leadership roles at beverage companies Coca-Cola and Tropicana.
“Canada is known as the land of hockey,” says Samoszewski. “But the reality is that 600,000 people play hockey; a million people play soccer.”
“We got really crystal clear on how we wanted each brand to show up,” says Natalie Goldberg, a Diageo brand director in Canada. She said the company has aggressively invested in off-premise displays to promote all three brands at retailer accounts including the Liquor Control Board of Ontario, known as LCBO. Off-premise displays were increased by 690% higher year-over-year for Don Julio and increased by 500% for Smirnoff.
Goldberg says that when a TV is on, she wants to see Smirnoff in fans’ hands, but outdoor patio are a better fit for Casamigos, while the VIP section is reserved with Don Julio. She lauded her team’s efforts to secure prime branding at outdoor Toronto venues like RendezViews, which has been splashed with the brand’s teal blue for the tournament.
“When we thought about these three brands, we knew that they all played a distinct role in helping us bring consumers into spirits from beer and RTD,” says Goldberg. Vodka and tequila were the best fit, she added, because of their “massive cross-pollination” with the beer drinker.