Football fans can breathe a sigh of relief thanks to Zee Entertainment Enterprises (Z) stepping in and acquiring the rights for the FIFA World Cup. The rights cost them around INR 300 crore and cover 39 FIFA tournaments, including the next three Men’s World Cups and the Men’s FIFA Club World Cup in 2029 and 2033.

For comparison, JioStar paid roughly double that to acquire the rights to the Premier League, England’s top division and the most-watched football league in India, for a three-year cycle.

There have been arguments (one of which can be found on in the June issue of Manifest) that football isn’t lucrative for brands, especially given the time zone for the 2026 edition of the Men’s FIFA World Cup being held in the USA, Canada, and Mexico.

What’s worth noting is that the 2030 Men’s World Cup is being held across three continents – North America, Europe and South America. Again, the timings for the games in the Americas could find few viewers, while games in Europe remain in ‘prime time’ (if that’s still a thing).

The 2034 World Cup will be held in Saudi Arabia. That will be as prime time as it can get for Indian viewers.

But what’s being overlooked by many is that India’s youth follow club football by supporting the likes of Liverpool FC, Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, or the recently crowned Champions of Europe – PSG. FIFA’s revamped version of the Club World Cup held last summer got little traction, but the body seems to be amping up its marketing game for it, given it converted to a 32-team tournament.

Z’s return to the sports world through its Unite8 television channels seems to be a well-made bet, given the money paid for the rights and access to the teams as well as the supporters of the earlier mentioned clubs, apart from the FIFA tournaments. 

On the topic of bets – the advertising industry makes its way to Cannes. Last year, India won 32 Lions, almost double its tally from 2024.

What’s our bet for this year?

 After impressive pieces of work winning at the Good Ads Matter Awards, Abbys, and Kyoorius, we are expecting India to win a respectable haul of Lions, possibly the same number as last year.

And here’s one more – France will score a double. A good show-up of the advertising industry in Cannes, followed by a FIFA World Cup triumph.

(The author is founder and editor, Manifest. This editorial first appeared in the June 2026 issue of Manifest, which can be bought here.)