Home Depot said early Wednesday it will be a sponsor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The high-profile, high-stakes tournament — arguably the most watched sports event in the world — will include 104 matches among the men’s teams of 48 nations in cities across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Home Depot has 2,345 stores, all in those three nations. Atlanta, which is among the American host cities, is scheduled to hold to eight matches at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“We are thrilled to host fans in our own backyard,” Molly Battin, Home Depot senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “We know our customers love sports and we love connecting with them through their passions.”
The Vinings-based company will be the event’s “Home Improvement Retail Supporter,” she said. “We can’t wait to help build the FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. — the communities where we live and work.”
The Home Depot Backyard, a multiuse lawn on the site of the former Georgia Dome, sits next to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Home Depot has about 465,000 employees and is the largest company by revenue that is based in Georgia. The company, the world’s largest home improvement chain, has sales of more than $150 billion a year.
Officials declined to provide information about what Home Depot paid to FIFA for the sponsorship rights.
Home Depot sponsors a number of other sporting events, including ESPN College GameDay and NCAA March Madness. The company also has soccer-centric partnerships with Atlanta United and Mexico’s national soccer team.
However, the company has no sports sponsorships in the summer, according to a statement from the company. “The World Cup fills a hole in (Home Depot’s) programming calendar.”
FIFA — the Federation Internationale de Football Association — has 211 affiliated associations and runs the global men’s and women’s tournaments on four-year cycles.
With the tournament moving from 32 teams to 45 for 2026,the World Cup is set to be “the most inclusive FIFA World Cup in history,” Mattias Grafström, the organization’s secretary general, said in a statement.
“The Home Depot’s commitment to innovation and community resonates with FIFA’s values of inclusivity and global engagement,” he said.
FIFA, an 120-year-old organization based in Switzerland, is “soccer’s ultimate administrative authority,” according to the organization’s website. “FIFA governs all facets of the game: regulating the rules of play, overseeing the transfers of players internationally, organizing international competitions such as the FIFA World Cup, establishing standards for refereeing, coaching and sports medicine, and encouraging soccer’s development around the world.”
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