FIFA announces major multi-tournament partnership with Airbnb

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FIFA and Airbnb Join Forces in Groundbreaking Multi-Tournament Deal
Credit: Airbnb

FIFA has announced a new major partnership with online accommodation marketplace Airbnb, spanning over three tournaments.

As part of the deal, Airbnb becomes a top-tier official partner for the FIFA Club World Cup, which kicked off in the U.S. on the 13th of June.

The company will also join FIFA’s official supporter tier for the 2026 Men’s World Cup, taking place across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, as well as the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.

In its new role, Airbnb will be FIFA’s official platform for booking alternative accommodations and local experiences.

That means fans traveling to host cities will be able to find unique places to stay and book memorable activities during the tournaments.

Some of the first experiences available during the Club World Cup include a private training session with former U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard, the chance to watch a match with his former teammate Cobi Jones, and an exclusive pre-game analysis session led by a senior expert from FIFA’s technical study group.

Airbnb took its first big step into sports sponsorship in 2019 when it partnered with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become a TOP sponsor of the Olympic Games.

Building on that momentum, the company was recently announced as an official partner of the Tour de France for the next three years, following this summer’s Games in Paris.

Now, Airbnb is expanding its presence in sports through a new partnership with FIFA, echoing its previous deals by focusing on one-of-a-kind experiences and encouraging fans to use the platform to book places to stay during the events.

To support the launch of the FIFA partnership, a new study by Deloitte estimates that over 380,000 Airbnb guests will travel to the 2026 Men’s World Cup, potentially contributing around US$3.6 billion (AUD$5.01 billion) to the economies of host cities.

Airbnb has also pledged US$5 million (AUD$7.66 million) to a Host City Impact Program for the 2026 tournament.

Through this initiative, it will work with local governments to fund projects that boost economic development and enhance the visitor experience.

Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky said the company is proud to partner with FIFA to offer unique fan experiences and help host hundreds of thousands of guests during the 2026 World Cup, while also supporting local economies.

“The World Cup brings the world together – and so do we,” Chesky said in a press release.

“Airbnb is proud to partner with Fifa to offer fans once-in-a-lifetime experiences during the tournaments – while welcoming hundreds of thousands of guests during the 2026 Fifa World Cup and driving meaningful economic impact for local communities.”

Airbnb’s latest move into sports sponsorship comes at a time when the company is seeing a dip in demand in the U.S., which it has attributed to broader economic uncertainty.

With North America making up 45% of Airbnb’s US$11.1 billion (AUD$17 billion) in revenue in 2024, the upcoming major tournaments in its home market present a valuable opportunity to boost engagement and bring more users back to the platform.

Airbnb joins a growing list of sponsors for the FIFA Club World Cup, alongside long-time FIFA partners like Coca-Cola, Visa, and Adidas, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

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Football South Australia renews partnership with Datacord as Community Football Commitment Deepens

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Image Credit: Football SA

Football South Australia has announced the renewal of its partnership with Datacord, continuing a relationship that has grown steadily since the South Australian print and document solutions provider first entered the football community as naming rights sponsor of the Collegiate Soccer League Division 1.

That initial agreement, which saw Datacord align with one of Adelaide’s most historic amateur competitions, marked the beginning of what has since developed into a broader commitment to South Australian football at every level. The renewed partnership extends Datacord’s involvement beyond the CSL and into the wider Football SA ecosystem, with clubs across the state now able to access exclusive offers and preferred pricing on photocopying, managed print services and tailored business solutions.

The practical value of that access should not be understated. Community football clubs operate on tight margins, relying heavily on volunteer administrators managing everything from registration paperwork to grant applications. Cost-effective print and document solutions reduce the operational burden on those volunteers, a small but meaningful contribution to the sustainability of clubs that form the backbone of the game in South Australia.

“George is a great supporter of sport in South Australia and we are delighted to have Datacord as a supporter of football,” said Football SA CEO Michael Carter. “Service is second to none and we highly recommend their services to the business community within the Football Family.”

For Datacord Managing Director George Koutsoubis, the renewal reflects a genuine investment in the community rather than a transactional commercial arrangement. “It is important to support the local community, and Football South Australia is the perfect place to start spreading the word about Datacord and what we do for the South Australian community,” he said. “We are locally owned and operated, and I think it is a great partnership to be part of.”

Football NSW releases $600,000 towards Grassroots Grants to meet Participation Pressure

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The Victorian State Government has announced new grants and funding for 11 new community infrastructure projects for local football clubs, totalling $3.8 million.
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Sixty-five football clubs across New South Wales have secured a combined total of nearly $600,000 in funding through the NSW Office of Sport’s Local Sports Grant Program. It follows as a result of Football NSW’s scale of demand for community sport support and the growing pressure on clubs struggling to keep pace with surging participation.

The grants, covering 69 individual projects across the Football NSW footprint, will fund facility upgrades, equipment purchases, participation programs and accessibility improvements: the unglamorous but essential infrastructure that determines whether community clubs can function at the level their members require.

The Local Sports Grant Program made up to $4.65 million available statewide in 2025, with $50,000 allocated to each electoral district and individual grants capped at $20,000. Football’s share of nearly $600,000 reflects the sport’s status as the largest participation code in NSW, and the degree to which that status has not always been matched by corresponding investment in the facilities and resources required to sustain it.

Volunteers carrying an unsustainable load

The announcement arrives against a backdrop of mounting pressure on the volunteer workforce that keeps community football operational. Across NSW, thousands of volunteers dedicate significant unpaid time each week to administration, ground preparation, canteen operation and the logistical demands of running competitive junior and senior programs. As participation numbers climb, driven in part by the sustained visibility of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup and the legacy of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, those demands have intensified without a corresponding increase in the resources available to meet them.

“As the largest participation sport in NSW it is pleasing to see almost $600,000 will be reinvested back into supporting our players, coaches, referees and volunteers to improve the football experience across our community clubs,” said Helen Armson, Football NSW’s Group Head of Strategic Partnerships and Corporate Affairs.

The equity dimension

The distribution of the grants across 65 clubs and 69 projects also speaks to the geographic breadth of football’s footprint in NSW, and to the uneven distribution of resources that has historically characterised community sport in this country. Clubs in outer metropolitan and regional areas tend to operate with smaller budgets, older facilities and thinner volunteer bases than their inner-city counterparts. Grant programs structured around electoral allocation, rather than club size or existing resource base, provide a degree of equity that market-driven funding cannot.

The kinds of projects funded under this program disproportionately benefit clubs serving communities where the barriers to participation are highest. A club that cannot offer adequate facilities or equipment is a club that turns players away, often without intending to.

Football NSW has used the announcement to call on the NSW Government to maintain and extend its investment in the sport. “We urge the government to continue to invest in football,” Armson said, in the midst for a nation-wide push for a $343 million decade-long infrastructure fund to address the facilities gap across the state.

The nearly $600,000 secured through this round is meaningful. Against the scale of what is needed, it is also a measure of how far the investment still has to go.

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