A collaborative piece by Kahlen Macaulay, head of sports and media partnerships and social media company Snap Inc., operator of the Snapchat platform.
Every four years, the FIFA World Cup delivers unforgettable moments that dominate global attention. But in 2026, brands may find their biggest opportunity not during a goal, but during a pause.
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Without wanting to instill panic, the FIFA World Cup is now just three months away. In 2022, the tournament engaged around five billion fans across all media channels, making it one of the most widely watched sporting events in the world. With anticipation already building around the 2026 tournament, audiences this year are expected to be even bigger.
Hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico during the summer months, this year’s World Cup will copy the set-up of previous tournaments with scheduled water breaks in the 22nd minute. These pauses in play create a rare moment in live sport: the action stops, but audience attention doesn’t.
A pause or a possibility?
Brands are already eyeing the opportunity. A scheduled break creates a predictable window where millions of viewers pause at the same time. Some matches may already be tense; goals could have been scored, early cards shown, and national rivalries beginning to emerge.
For the audience, it’ll likely be a time when many instinctively reach for their phones, turning to social media and group chats to discuss the game, or follow instant highlights and analysis. After all, data from Snapchat shows that 67% of users bond with friends and family through sport, while 57% use the platform during live games. For many fans, the second screen is now as important as the first, as a connector and complement to the action. Every 22nd minute becomes a huge opportunity.
The minute fans reach for their phones
Major sporting events have long been second-screen experiences. Fans rarely experience the action in isolation anymore. Whether it’s messaging friends, sharing reactions, or scrolling through commentary and memes, the match increasingly lives beyond the broadcast itself.
During a short drinks break, when the on-pitch action pauses, the tension intensifies. And fan behavior shifts accordingly. Phones come out, conversations start, and social feeds fill with reactions.
For brands, this pause for the players spells go-time for marketers. In many ways, this second-screen behavior has become part of the matchday ritual. Watching the game and participating in the conversation around it now go hand in hand. People are engaged in the tournament, but actively open to distraction, meaning brands can support the moment without fear of interruption.
Branded World Cup filters spotlighting fans’ national teams are an example of an engaging ad experience that users will share directly to their friends and family midgame, ad formats showing up alongside chat will make the most of fans’ need to connect during the water breaks, while ads alongside short-form highlights and analysis capture those looking to dive deeper.
An open goal for engagement
Snap data shows that 60% of people are more likely to consider and purchase brands sponsoring major sporting events, rising to 73% among World Cup fans. For marketers planning activations around the 2026 World Cup, ignoring these shared moments of pause may mean missing a significant opportunity.
Inevitably, drinks breaks create a plannable moment in which millions of fans pause together. That kind of synchronized attention is rare. It makes these breaks one of the most powerful windows for brands to show up in a way that feels timely and deliberate rather than interruptive. Sports in general are a driving force of culture. But engaging with the fandom around the event is now nearly as important as the event itself.
Brands need to show up on digital platforms widely to be part of the new football fan experience. Short-form clips, creator-led commentary, and playful content that taps into the emotion of the match can help brands become part of the live conversation rather than simply advertising around it. This type of content, shareable and far easier to consume than a full 90-minute game, supplements the fan experience whilst being a strong entry point for new or casual fans, reaching even broader audiences.
However, this type of opportunity isn’t entirely new. When the Super Bowl blackout hit in 2013, Oreo’s ‘You can still dunk in the dark’ tweet became one of the most celebrated examples of real-time marketing. The brand succeeded not simply by reacting quickly, but because it was prepared to respond to the moment.
All eyes on the ads
The World Cup has always been defined by unforgettable moments. From Diego Maradona’s brilliance with the ‘Hand of God’ against England in 1986 to Alex Morgan’s tea-sipping celebration toward England fans in 2019’s Women’s tournament. Yet unlike these spontaneous moments, the 22nd-minute water break creates something far more valuable for marketers: predictability. It’s a repeatable window where fans are already primed to engage in real time.
In 2026, the moments between the action may prove just as valuable as the goals themselves. The brands that win won’t simply advertise around them. The question should be: when fans pick up their phones in that 22nd minute, will your brand be part of the conversation… or miss the moment entirely?
