After Spain’s victory over Argentina to claim the 2026 FIFA World Cup title, Chinese sponsors of the Spanish national soccer team began distributing rewards they had previously promised.
A leading Chinese kitchen appliance company launched a promotional campaign that was only valid if Spain won the tournament. Customers who purchased certain products before July 19 were entered into a draw, with 22 winners to be selected by August 3. Prizes include two pieces of limited-edition celadon pottery crafted by renowned Chinese ceramic artist Ye Xiaochun, and 20 winners will each receive a 25-gram gold soccer ball.
This approach for the 2026 World Cup is more moderate compared to the company’s promotions for the 2018 tournament. Back then, they had pledged that if their sponsored team, France, won the World Cup, they would refund a portion of purchases. The company ended up reimbursing customers approximately 80 million CNY (around USD 11.8 million) for online and offline sales exceeding 1 billion CNY (about USD 147.7 million).
Market data from All View Cloud Data Technology indicates that the company’s share in the domestic offline range hood market increased from 6.8% to 7.9%, and its share in the gas stove segment rose from 9.3% to 10.3% as of July 12, compared to the previous year. Its online market share for kitchen appliance packages also grew from 5.9% to 7.5% over the same period.
Additionally, a Chinese coffee chain, Luckin Coffee, sponsored Spain during the World Cup. Following Spain’s win, the company announced it would distribute 100,000 free order vouchers along with 25% discount coupons.
TCL Technology, a major industrial corporation, has partnered with Spain since 2023. During this year’s World Cup, TCL organized outdoor advertising campaigns and promotional events focused on the Spanish team across several countries, including Spain, Germany, the United States, Canada, and China.
According to GfK data, TCL’s market share in the Spanish TV segment increased from 8.5% in May to 10.6% in the same month a year earlier, and rose further to 11.2% in June from 9.3% a year prior. Sigmaintell forecasted that TCL’s international TV shipments surged nearly 16% in the first half of the year, reaching approximately 11.8 million units compared to the previous year.
Experts like Li Jiang, executive director of the sports marketing intelligence platform, note that Chinese brands’ core sponsorship strategy at this year’s World Cup has shifted toward more sophisticated, in-depth partnerships with national teams. Li explains that this marks a move away from solely brand exposure, emphasizing collaborations to develop limited-edition co-branded products, establish offline promotional spaces internationally, partner with broadcasters and short-video platforms, and organize offline fan engagement activities centered around match viewing.
Recently, home appliance giant Midea Group became the main sponsor of Barcelona, one of Spain’s premier football clubs. Many Barcelona players also play for Spain’s national team, enabling Midea to leverage the World Cup for promotional campaigns.