"Outside Christian Pulisic, people may not be familiar with some of these players." That's Fox Sports' own Senior VP of Brand Marketing, Whit Haskel, summing up the challenge facing the 2026 World Cup on home soil — and explaining why the network is throwing everything at fixing it before the opening whistle.
The campaign is already visible. Three 40-foot inflatable versions of Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal, and Christian Pulisic have been touring the country — popping up at the 2026 Indy 500 and on the Santa Monica Pier last month, drawing in fans who might never have watched a USMNT match in their lives. Gimmicky? Sure. But reaching people who don't already follow the sport requires meeting them somewhere other than a matchday broadcast.
The Hometown Heroes play
The centrepiece of Fox's strategy is its Hometown Heroes campaign — a series of segments connecting USMNT players to their American roots. Pulisic's Hershey, Pennsylvania upbringing. Tyler Adams representing New York. Captain Tim Ream and his St. Louis ties. It's identity-driven storytelling designed to give casual viewers a reason to care before the group stage even begins.
Fox also launched a 'Miracle' World Cup ad last month that leans hard into American sporting mythology, featuring cameos from Pulisic, Ream, Diego Luna, Bruce Arena, Tom Brady, Zlatan Ibrahimović, and Mike Eruzione — the captain of the 1980 'Miracle on Ice' hockey team. The ad imagines the USMNT winning a World Cup final against Brazil on July 19 in New Jersey, with Pulisic scoring the winner off a last-second corner. Subtlety is not the brief here.
Whether it reflects genuine belief in this USMNT squad or just aspirational marketing, that final scenario carries real weight for anyone pricing up a USA tournament winner market. A host nation with this level of broadcast and commercial investment behind them will not be without support — or momentum.
Chasing an audience beyond the core
Fox holds exclusive English-language broadcast rights to all 104 World Cup matches in the US. With approximately 87 million Americans expressing at least some interest in the tournament according to YouGov's 2026 global brand handbook, the audience ceiling is real — but so is the gap between interest and actual viewership.
To close it, Fox has launched the Fox Sports Creator Club, partnering with LA-based agency DMM to recruit hundreds of influencers across World Cup host cities. The target isn't just soccer accounts.
- Food influencers
- Culture creators
- Baseball and NFL audiences
- New and casual sports fans in host cities
"We only reach a certain number of people on our platforms," Haskel said. "We have to go way outside our platforms to connect with other sports fans." In return for attending Fox activations — personalised Adidas sneakers, jersey names, exclusive viewing events — creators tag the brand and share content. It's a straightforward exchange, and Haskel says it's already working.
The 2022 World Cup Final between Argentina and France peaked at 16.78 million viewers on Fox. The 2026 tournament is on US soil, with a USMNT squad that could plausibly reach the knockout rounds. Fox's number will go up. The question is by how much — and whether this campaign is what gets a 25-year-old who has never watched a full match to suddenly care about Tim Ream's St. Louis roots.
