WHO REALLY WON THE WORLD CUP?

• The World Cup Beyond the Pitch: Football, Advertising, and the Battle for Africa's Youth. 

By Dr. Shaaban Fundi

The World Cup has come to an end. What an unforgettable month of football it has been.

We witnessed breathtaking matches, stunning upsets, and results that sometimes seemed impossible to explain. Every game brought its own story—moments of brilliance, heartbreak, resilience, and redemption. There was joy for the winners in every match and sadness for those who fell short.

For one month, the beautiful game united billions of people across continents, cultures, and languages.

And then, just as quickly as it arrived, it was over.

For me, however, this World Cup was different.

It was the first time I consciously watched the tournament through the lens of comparison. The last World Cup I watched while living in Tanzania was France 1998. I had just graduated from the University of Dar es Salaam. Every World Cup since then, I have watched while living in the United States.

That difference in geography gave me a different perspective.

What I remember most vividly about the 1998 World Cup was not only the football but also the advertisements. Compared to today, there was far less commercialization. The commercials I remember featured companies such as Shell, Renault, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi.

Yet one advertisement has remained in my memory for nearly three decades.

It showed young people each holding a single stick. Individually, each stick could easily be broken. But when the sticks were tied together into one bundle, they became impossible to break. The message was timeless: there is strength in unity.

This year's World Cup presented a very different commercial landscape.

Sports betting companies were everywhere. Fast-food chains such as McDonald's competed for attention alongside sugary snacks, soft drinks, delivery apps, and digital platforms. Many of the world's greatest footballers—the same athletes admired by millions of children—became ambassadors for products that nutrition experts routinely advise should be consumed only in moderation.

Watching the tournament from Tanzania while reflecting on my memories of Tanzania raised an important question in my mind.

What effect do these advertisements have on impressionable young people in countries like Tanzania?

Advertising during the World Cup is far more than entertainment. It is one of the world's most powerful forms of cultural influence. Football is universal, and the players have become global role models. When these icons repeatedly promote fast food, sugary beverages, processed snacks, and betting platforms, they are not simply selling products—they are shaping aspirations, lifestyles, and consumer habits.

Tanzania, like much of Africa, is blessed with an abundance of nutritious foods and organic snacks. Fresh fruits, cashews, coconuts, groundnuts, sweet potatoes, cassava, millet, sorghum, beans, and traditional vegetables have nourished communities for generations. Yet these foods rarely enjoy the marketing budgets or celebrity endorsements that multinational corporations can afford.

The concern is not that children occasionally eat a hamburger or drink a soft drink. Rather, it is whether relentless global advertising gradually changes what they value.

When imported ultra-processed foods become symbols of success, modernity, and prestige simply because they are associated with football superstars, healthier local foods can begin to appear old-fashioned or less desirable.

The same concern applies to sports betting. When betting companies saturate broadcasts watched by millions of young fans, they normalize gambling as another part of football culture. For adolescents still developing their judgment, repeated exposure can shape attitudes toward risk, money, and success.

None of this means that every advertisement determines behavior. Young people's choices are influenced by many factors, including parents, schools, peers, income, and the availability of different foods and services. But advertising is undeniably part of that environment. It is designed to influence preferences, and during an event as global as the World Cup, its reach is enormous.

Perhaps that is why I still remember the commercial about the bundle of sticks after twenty-eight years, while I will probably forget many of this year's advertisements within months.

One commercial reminded us that unity makes us stronger.

Many of today's commercials encourage us to consume more.

As Africa embraces the global game, it should also celebrate and protect its own strengths—its nutritious foods, its cultural values, and its local industries. The World Cup should inspire us not only through the football played on the pitch, but also by encouraging us to ask difficult questions about the messages that accompany the game.

The crowds will disperse, the stadiums will fall silent, and the players will return to their clubs. The advertisements will move on to the next global event.

But perhaps the most important question remains: Long after the final whistle, who really won the battle for the minds, habits, and aspirations of the next generation?