18 - FIFA Is Watching: A Small Business Guide to World Cup Marketing
Every four years, the World Cup takes over our feeds, offices, group chats, and coffee shops. Small businesses naturally want in on the excitement. Before you slap “World Cup Special!” onto your Instagram graphic, there’s something you should know: FIFA takes its trademarks very seriously.
If you run a café, a pub, a print shop, or any small business planning to capitalize on World Cup fever this summer, this one's for you. Pull up a chair, we need to talk about FIFA's lawyers and bylaw officers.
The news, in case you missed it
BlogTO and The New York Times both recently ran pieces confirming what a lot of us have been bracing for: so-called "FIFA police" will be walking Canadian streets this summer to enforce the tournament's trademarks and copyrights, and they're going to be visible about it.
In Toronto, bylaw officers will be deployed on game days, patrolling a brand-exclusive "clean zone" that extends roughly two kilometres around BMO Field. Vancouver as well will have its own bylaw teams enforcing FIFA's brand rights around its stadium.
The Times piece quotes Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow walking through the kind of creative workarounds local bars are reaching for, referring to the tournament as "the global goblet" and similar nicknames, because, without an official sponsor license, bars aren't evenallowed to put the words "World Cup" on a chalkboard outside. Sneaky Dee's, which has tangled with sports-league IP enforcement before, is going with "the Global Kickball Cup." That's the level of caution we're talking about.
A small reality check: this was never going to be a surprise
Some of us in the legal world have been watching this train leave the station for a long time. FIFA quietly built out its Canadian legal infrastructure years ahead of the tournament (I saw the job postings). That's not the timeline of an organization that plans to politely ask infringers to please stop. That's the timeline of an organization preparing to enforce methodically, at scale, and with the cooperation of host municipalities written directly into their host-city contracts. While the news coverage may make this feel sudden, it really isn't.
If you want to see what FIFA itself thinks counts as protected, the FIFA World Cup 26 IP Guidelines lay it out in detail. The short version: FIFA claims over 98 protected trademarks in connection with the tournament, including official logos and wordmarks, host city logos and slogans, the trophy imagery, the official mascot, and even a custom typeface (yes, the font is protected). The guidelines apply across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and they're explicit that only official FIFA Rights Holders may use any of this for commercial purposes. The guidelines do, helpfully, encourage everyone else to use generic football or country-related imagery and language that doesn't incorporate FIFA IP, which is the lane small businesses should be aiming for.
Commercial vs. non-commercial: why this distinction matters
Here's the part that can save (or cost) your business real money. When IP holders pursue infringement, the consequences scale dramatically based on whether the use is commercial (you're making money, attracting customers, or driving revenue off the protected marks) or non-commercial (your kid drew a Messi poster with crayons, you wore a homemade jersey to a backyard barbecue).
Commercial uses attract significantly stiffer consequences. Cease-and-desist letters are just the warm-up. Statutory damages under the Copyright Act and remedies under the Trademarks Act can climb into the tens of thousands of dollars per infringement. Add legal fees, the cost of destroying inventory, the wasted marketing spend on the infringing materials, and, if it ends up in the press, the reputational hit. The math can get ugly fast.
Layer on the Competition Act: if your marketing falsely suggests you're an "official" anything, the Competition Bureau can investigate and seek penalties for false or misleading representations. That's a separate exposure from the trademark side, and it's one a lot of small businesses don't see coming.
Non-commercial uses aren't risk-free, but they're rarely the target. FIFA isn't sending bylaw officers after the dad in the homemade jersey. They're sending them after the pub charging cover for the "Official-ish FIFA Viewing Experience."
The line between the two is fuzzier than people think. Charging admission, selling food and drink themed around the event, using event marks in your advertising (even if you don't directly sell merchandise) can all push a use into the commercial column.
Practical tips for small businesses planning to ride the World Cup wave
A few things small businesses can keep in mind:
Don't use the official marks. This means No FIFA logo, "FIFA World Cup 2026" wordmark, official mascot, trophy imagery, or tournament emblem. Not on your signs, not on your menus, and not on your social media. As Toronto bars have already been told: you can't even put "World Cup" on a sandwich board outside. This is the single biggest source of trouble.
Be careful with the obvious workarounds. "FIFA-style watch party" is not a workaround. Trademark law looks at consumer confusion and false association, not technical wordplay. If a reasonable person would think you're affiliated with the tournament, you may have a problem.
Generic terms are usually safe. "Watch the games here." "Soccer all month long." "Big screen, cold drinks, June through July." These describe what you're actually doing without invoking protected marks. They're also, frankly, more honest.
Know what TV broadcast rights you actually have. Showing matches publicly in a commercial setting can implicate broadcast licensing, separate from FIFA's trademark concerns. If you're planning to show games to paying customers, talk to your broadcast provider about a commercial license.
Skip the merchandise temptation. Custom tournament-themed shirts, mugs, and printed goods are a magnet for enforcement. Officially licensed merch exists; unofficial merch sold for profit is one of the easiest things for an enforcement team to spot and act on.
If you're inside a "clean zone," assume scrutiny is higher. Toronto, Vancouver, and the other host-region areas are explicitly contracted to monitor brand use around the stadiums. If your business is in one of those zones, expect a visit at some point.
Document your due diligence. If you're working with a designer, printer, or marketing agency, get written confirmation that they're not using protected IP. It won't make a problem disappear, but it can shift some of the exposure off your shoulders.
When in doubt, ask. A conversation with a lawyer before you launch a campaign is going to be meaningfully cheaper than having to respond to a cease-and-desist response after the fact. (Yes, I'm a lawyer telling you to call a lawyer. I'm aware of how that sounds.)
Bottom line
The World Cup coming to Canada is exciting, and there's nothing wrong with your business wanting to participate in the moment. The catch is that the moment itself is heavily protected, the people who own those protections have spent years preparing to enforce them, and the city you operate in may have agreed to help.
Have fun, just not the kind of fun that ends in a letter from FIFA's lawyers, or a bylaw officer at your front door.
This post is general information, not legal advice. Every situation is fact-specific, if you're planning World Cup-related commercial activity, talk to a lawyer about your particular plans before you commit to them.
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Mariela Gutierrez is a business lawyer and founder of Encino Law. She helps entrepreneurs and service-based businesses protect and grow their businesses through practical, proactive legal guidance.
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