{"id":512195,"date":"2026-03-03T19:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T19:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512195\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T19:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T19:24:08","slug":"walmart-using-mls-deal-to-connect-with-soccer-fans-ahead-of-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/512195\/","title":{"rendered":"Walmart using MLS deal to connect with soccer fans ahead of World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Walmart\u2019s partnership with MLS<\/a> gets the retailer \u201cinside a fast-growing sport and its coveted fanbase\u201d while tying the league and its Leagues Cup tournament to the \u201cscale and muscle of the retailer ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,\u201d according to Jon Springer of AD AGE. Walmart Head of Brand Experiences & Partnerships Kim Tunick said that MLS gives Walmart access to an audience that she described as \u201csuper young, super diverse, social and digital first.\u201d Springer noted the fan base \u201caligns with the younger and multicultural shoppers central to Walmart\u2019s growth strategy.\u201d The deal also gives Walmart \u201ctime to build familiarity and trust with soccer fans before the World Cup arrives in June.\u201d The deal includes the Walmart Saturday Showdown, a game-of-the-week offering airing on Saturday nights on Apple TV that is \u201cmeant to bolster appointment viewing with matches chosen for their rivalry and drama narratives.\u201d Merchandise \u201cties the sponsorship directly to Walmart,\u201d which is \u201cleaning into a range of product categories associated with soccer.\u201d The retailer is \u201cdeveloping exclusive MLS products designed to position it as a destination for soccer fans — from jerseys and gear to watch-party staples.\u201d Tunick said that Walmart also is \u201cnegotiating intellectual property and pass-through rights that allow suppliers to use MLS marks in promotions and activations tied to the league, enabling national in-store events and brand integrations\u201d (AD AGE, 3\/2<\/a>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Walmart\u2019s partnership with MLS gets the retailer \u201cinside a fast-growing sport and its coveted fanbase\u201d while tying the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,94247,573,561,82,13009],"class_list":["post-512195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-international-soccer","tag-mls","tag-soccer","tag-sports","tag-world-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}