RIYADH: The appearance of Yasir Al-Rumayyan, governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund and chairman of Aramco, at the 2026 World Cup final ceremony as he presented the Best Young Player award to Spain’s Pau Cubarsi while the oil giant’s logo dominated the scene was a striking publicity stunt, but it was not the company’s only achievement.
According to valuation firm Brand Finance, Aramco achieved the highest expected impact on corporate value and the greatest added value to its brand among the tournament’s official sponsors, Asharq Bloomberg reported.
Aramco added approximately $1.08 billion to its brand value, while the expected impact on corporate value reached around $26.1 billion, making it the top beneficiary of the 2026 World Cup in terms of economic gains associated with sponsorship.
Corporate value refers to the increase in a company’s value resulting from stronger brand recognition, an enhanced competitive position, and future business potential, rather than direct cash revenue generated by the tournament.
$26bn expected impact
Aramco alone accounted for approximately 43 percent of the total corporate value generated by the tournament for sponsoring companies, amounting to $61 billion.
Comparisons highlight the significant difference achieved by the Saudi company. The sponsorship contribution to Visa’s corporate value reached approximately $7.8 billion, while Bank of America’s reached approximately $4.9 billion, Hyundai’s around $4.8 billion, Verizon’s approximately $4.5 billion, and Coca-Cola’s sponsorship contribution reached approximately $3.1 billion.
Although Aramco ranked fourth in terms of brand growth rate among the official sponsors of the tournament, registering a growth rate of 2.3 percent, behind Lenovo at 4.2 percent, Kia at 3.5 percent, and Hyundai at 3.4 percent.
It did, however, top the list in terms of the absolute economic value added to the company by the sponsorship, reflecting the scale of its operations and the strength of its global brand.
Biggest winners
The total increase in brand value for participating sponsors reached approximately $7.2 billion, with Aramco alone accounting for nearly 15 percent of the total added value generated by all sponsors.
The report established three criteria for selecting companies to be included in the analysis: they must be official sponsors of FIFA, their parent companies must be publicly listed on financial markets and have clear data on their corporate value, and sufficient data and research must be available to allow for a reliable valuation.
Saudi Aramco became a major and exclusive energy partner of FIFA in April 2024. While the value of the deal was not officially disclosed, UK’s The Times reported in November 2023, citing informed sources, that the partnership could be worth up to $100 million annually and was scheduled to run until 2034.
