FIFA announced that Kraken has been named the Official Cryptocurrency Exchange Sponsor of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, formalizing a partnership that will focus on activations and fan experiences across the competition's 16 host cities in Mexico, Canada and the United States.
The 2026 tournament will be the first FIFA World Cup to feature 48 teams. Scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19, the event will include 104 matches and is projected to reach a cumulative global audience of more than six billion people over seven weeks.
Kraken, which is operated by Payward, provides access to digital asset markets for customers in over 190 countries. The company has been active in the cryptocurrency exchange sector for more than a decade.
On the announcement, Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken and Payward, said:
"Football is the only thing that moves the entire planet at the same time. For seven weeks, six billion people will follow the same matches, beyond borders and languages. Money should work the same way," said Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of Kraken and Payward. "The 2026 FIFA World Cup is an opportunity to show millions of people what they’ve been missing: an open, borderless financial system, accessible to anyone from their mobile phone."
The partnership will officially begin on June 10 with the 2026 FIFA World Cup Countdown Concert, a multi-country, multi-city event scheduled for the day before the tournament’s opening match. FIFA said Kraken will provide fan-focused product experiences in Europe and North America during the tournament, though specific product details were not enumerated in the announcement.
Romy Gai, FIFA’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented on the deal, saying:
"As we prepare to welcome the world to the biggest FIFA World Cup ever, we are delighted to partner with Kraken, an organization that shares our commitment to innovation and technology."
Kraken has prior experience with sports partnerships, having worked with Tottenham Hotspur FC, Atlético de Madrid, RB Leipzig and the Atlassian Williams Racing Formula 1 team. The company’s role in 2026 will center on bringing crypto-related activations to fans across multiple markets during the expanded tournament.
For commercial and market watchers, the arrangement links digital asset services with one of the world’s largest live-sporting platforms. The announced elements of the partnership include a pre-tournament entertainment activation, city-level activations across the 16 host cities, and consumer-facing product experiences in specified regions.
Details not specified in the announcement include the exact nature of the fan product experiences and how they will be delivered across different regulatory jurisdictions. The announcement also relies on a projected cumulative audience figure, which the organizations present as an estimate of the tournament’s global reach.