Adidas came back swinging as a kit sponsor. It has the most teams in the tournament, dressing 14 countries. More countries means more jerseys to sell to supporters, and the more the merrier, especially for crowd favourites like reigning champion Argentina and World Cup hopeful Spain.

The picture was completely different in World Cup 2022, when Nike sponsored the most teams and Adidas came in second. So Adidas has wrestled the throne away for 2026. And let’s not forget that Adidas has supplied the official match ball for every World Cup since 1970.

So it’s likely Adidas’s revenue gets a bigger bump than the other two this year. Investors seem to have already taken note. Adidas stock has jumped about 19% over the past month. Nike and Puma haven’t come close, up about 4% over the same period.

Finally, don’t mistake a marketing moment for a fixed business. The whole sportswear sector is still wrestling with excess inventory and softer demand in China, and we’ll only see whether the on-pitch visibility converts into actual sales when Adidas reports on 30 Jul. For now, the rally is running on the story alone.