OPERATIONS
In 2022, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar engaged an estimated five billion people globally. Across just five host cities and eight stadiums, more than 3.4 million people attended matches, driving record global sales for merchandise. Both in stadiums and around the world, the 2026 competition is expected to grab the attention of more fans than ever before. For the first time, the tournament is spanning three countries simultaneously and features 48 competing nations with matches across 16 cities. Snacks, drinks, shirts and scarves are just some of the items that need to be manufactured, transported and delivered to fans in the right places at the right times. Predicting and meeting demand, particularly on this scale, is no easy feat across the supply chain.
CREDIT: FANATICS
Making the merchandise Rather than making and stocking millions of shirts branded with teams that are not guaranteed to win games or the hearts of fans, the industry is moving to printon-demand( POD) and zero-inventory models. Instead of printing 10,000 shirts in China and shipping them to the US, companies are using direct-to-garment( DTG) and direct-to-film( DTF) technology to print items one-by-one in regional facilities exactly when an order is placed.
Often these are made at distributed production hubs, primarily in North America, the UK and South Korea,
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