Hi! Marketplace correspondent Elizabeth Trovall here. From the lovable underdogs (Cape Verde), the upsets (Paraguay vs Germany), the nail-biters (Colombia vs. Switzerland) and, of course, the scandal-turned-flameout (USA vs. Belgium)... I am bingeing the beautiful game this summer. And as any fútbol-loving Marketplace reporter would, I’m also thinking about the economic winners and losers. 

That brings me to sportswashing. Brands associate themselves with sports to capitalize on the good vibes. So what about American brands – and brand America? Off the pitch, there’s been a lot of warm and fuzzy in the air, like the way Europeans marveled at Costco and other wonders of U.S. consumerism, or the way Lawrence, Kansas embraced Algerian fans. It’s in stark contrast to deteriorating views abroad of the U.S. government. Perhaps it’s not a bad time for brand USA to get a little bit of positive World Cup PR (that is, if the Trump-Infantino red card debacle didn’t ruin it). — Elizabeth Trovall

More than 10,000 minutes of soccer will be broadcast internationally during the World Cup this summer — and accompanying every World Cup moment is an elite tier of brands that paid tens of millions of dollars to appear in nearly every shot. 

One of those brands is Saudi Aramco – the world's biggest oil company , majority-owned by Saudi Arabia.

“They (Aramco) want to pump up oil and sell oil for as long as they can, but they have a bad reputation because they're a fossil fuel company,” said Frank Huisingh, founder of Fossil Free Football, which has led a global campaign to oppose Aramco’s partnership with the World Cup. “And when you have a bad reputation, what's better to associate yourself with than the most popular event in the world?” 

Despite its oil dominance, Saudi Aramco has billed itself as the “Global Energy Partner” of this World Cup, not the “Global Oil Partner.” That’s no accident. 

“They're clearly trying to position themselves as part of the energy transition, as sort of more than just an oil company,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute. 

He said what Aramco and other brands are doing is often described as sportswashing. 

“They try to change the way that people talk, so you're not focusing on negative stuff, you're focusing on sport, on positive things,” Coates Ulrichsen said. “Sport has an appeal like no other.”

But World Cup fans don’t buy crude oil like they might beer or soda. So why does Saudi Aramco pay so much to sponsor the world’s biggest sporting event? Experts say the partnership isn’t about consumers — it’s about shaping the reputation of Saudi oil and Saudi Arabia.

Despite being a proud Colombia fútbol fan, Julian Baquero said his immigrant dad cheered on the U.S. against Paraguay during their first game. “He felt embraced by the U.S. in such a way that there's no other choice but to be supportive of the team,” he said.

Baquero, artistic director of Big Oak Tree Media in Houston, Texas, said of course they watched the game en Español.

“The Spanish broadcasting when you listen to it, It's contagious… the energy that you feel when you hear them,” he said. “The energy is a completely different thing.”

During their first World Cup match, the United States men's national team had more people tune in than ever before. Of the nearly 25 million viewers, some 9 million were watching in Spanish. The international sporting event is key for advertisers that want to reach Latino consumers, whose purchasing power grows increasingly relevant in the U.S.

 

“Marketers can really tap into what makes Hispanics tick, which is their language, their sports, their home team,” said Isabella Sánchez with the ad firm Zubi. 

“No matter what the country of origin is, whether that's Mexican or Colombian, everyone is a soccer fan,” she added. “It's really the place to connect with Hispanics.”

And it’s an important market — U.S. Latino GDP has grown to $4.4 trillion, according to the most recent data from the Latino Donor Collaborative.

While not as soft and furry as man’s best friend, robot dogs known as “Spot” from Boston Dynamics have four legs and are being deployed at World Cup stadiums in Dallas and New York for surveillance and security. 

“What we're really doing is we're using Spot as an extension of the security cameras that cover these games to keep all of the guests of the World Cup safe,” said Merry Frayne, senior director of product for software and quadrupeds at Boston Dynamics. 

Spot’s tasks include searching for hazards like abandoned backpacks or an item blocking the path to a stadium, according to Frayne. 

“This is a wonderful opportunity to not only test the robot in a very dynamic real-world environment, but also to get people used to seeing robots around the world,” Frayne said. “Automation has traditionally kind of been behind closed doors.”

No, it isn’t 2010, but as comedian Joe Opio noted in a recent episode of “What Now? with Trevor Noah,” the 2026 World Cup has been feeling like it really is time for Africa. Both Cape Verde and Egypt nearly took out World Cup defending champions Argentina. Nine of 10 African teams advanced to the Round of 32. It’s also worth mentioning the African diaspora includes some of the best soccer talent in the world.