Kia partners with Footballco to bring fans together through the ‘Inspiration Connects Us All’ campaign for FIFA World Cup 26™

Kia has appointed Footballco, the global football content and culture company, to deliver its ‘Inspiration connects us all’ campaign for the FIFA World Cup 26™, uniting fans around the world.

Under the partnership, Footballco is leading campaign strategy, creative development, end-to-end production and the management of football legends, cultural influencers and entertainment talent. The scope includes the creation and delivery of a wide range of original assets and tailored adaptations, culminating in a feature-length film. The scope includes the creation and delivery of a wide range of original assets and tailored adaptations, culminating in a feature-length film.

For distribution and to drive global reach, Footballco will activate its portfolio of leading football media brands, including GOAL and Koora, which collectively reach over 720 million fans worldwide.

Footballco’s work will extend across ten markets globally for the automotive company, including World Cup host nations: The United States of America, Mexico, and Canada, as well as Korea, Brazil, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The campaign launched on Friday with a teaser film starring French football icon and FIFA World Cup™ winner, Thierry Henry. Released in parallel with the official FIFA World Cup™ Final Draw on December 5th, the film saw Henry staging his own World Cup-style draw, but with an unexpected twist.

Taking visual cues from the official draw, the short film concludes with the final ball containing a slip of paper bearing the name ‘The 49th Team’ - the official title of Kia’s World Cup campaign, symbolising an additional team beyond the 48 official World Cup nations to celebrate the inspirational stories and abilities of the World Cup’s Official Match Ball Carriers.

The short film was followed by a secondary teaser, featuring Henry addressing rumours that he may be in charge of a new team at the World Cup, foreshadowing key narrative elements of the campaign still to come.

Nick Livingstone, Footballco’s Vice President of APAC, said: “Kia has been a committed partner of the FIFA World Cup™ for many years, and they understand better than anyone how uniquely powerful this tournament is in inspiring and connecting fans. This partnership reflects the confidence in Footballco's ability to deliver a campaign of this scale, and to bring together our full suite of capabilities from creative development and production to talent management and media distribution.”

“Footballco has a long history of helping global brands stand out on the world’s biggest football stages, and we know how competitive the World Cup landscape can be. That’s why we’re proud to collaborate with Kia on The 49th Team, and we’re looking forward to unveiling each phase of the campaign as we build towards the tournament next summer.”

Jae Hong Park, Vice President and Head of Kia’s Global Marketing Communications Group, said: “Footballco have demonstrated a vision and ambition for The 49th Team which matches our own. With a pedigree for creating and delivering on campaigns that both entertain and engage fans, and demonstrating an insight into global fandom, we’re excited for what’s to come.”