How to Drive Record Sales During 2026 FIFA World Cup for QSR Chains

Why the 2026 World Cup is a bigger opportunity than any previous tournament

The numbers speak for themselves:

• €1.17 billion was the estimated spend on food and drink during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in the UK alone
• €121 million was spent during the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, with 11.1 million people watching from home
• The 2023 Champions League final saw the highest number of food delivery orders on match day in the UK, according to UEFA
• 1 in 3 consumers is more likely to order takeaway during the World Cup
• 80% of orders serve groups of 2–5 people, boosting average order values
• Delivery revenue jumped 35% during the UEFA Euro 2024 final, with orders rising 30% throughout knockout matches

The 2026 edition is bigger than any of these. 48 teams instead of 32. 104 matches instead of 64. More match days, more viewing occasions, more delivery windows. The opportunity is proportionally larger, but only for operators that are operationally and commercially ready for it.

The match schedule and what it means for European QSR chains

What makes the 2026 World Cup different for European QSR chains, is that it’s hosted in North America, which means most matches involving European nations kick off between 6pm and midnight local time across the UK and Europe. Not in the middle of the night. Not during the working day. Right in your peak delivery window.

For chains in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Ireland; this is 39 days of match nights that land directly on top of your busiest ordering hours. Every group stage match, every knockout round, every nation your customers care about, arriving at dinner time, with fans at home, ordering food.

Below the games that matter most for the markets where your customers are:

Winning strategies to implement

1. Match-day offers and promotions

Special match-day promotions are the fastest way to drive volume during tournament windows. The most effective formats:

• Halftime discount push notifications: Sent the moment the whistle blows, redeemable for 20 minutes
• Goal celebration offers: “🏆 Goal! 15% off for the next 15 minutes”
• Group order deals: bundles designed for 3–5 people watching together, which drives AOV significantly higher than individual orders

During the 2024 Champions League, Pizza Hut partnered with Just Eat to offer two large pizzas, one classic side, and a 1.5L Pepsi for £29.99, saving customers 33%. These kinds of bundled group deals consistently outperform standard discounts during major football events.

2. Football-themed limited-time menu items

Tournament-specific menu items create urgency and increase engagement. Proven formats:

• Shareable platters designed for group viewing (wings, fries, dipping sauces)
• Country-inspired specials tied to tournament nations your audience supports
• Extra-time promotions, automatic discount triggers if a match goes to extra time, keeping fans ordering and engaged through the full viewing experience

3. Push notifications, your most powerful match-day tool

According to our data, 90% of delivery users prefer push notifications for updates. During major football events, the same logic applies to promotional messages. The key is timing:

• Pre-match: 30 minutes before kick-off: “England plays in 30 minutes. Order now, delivered before kick-off.”
• Halftime: the moment halftime starts: “Halftime. 20% off for the next 20 minutes.”
• Extra time trigger: if the match goes to extra time: automatic promotion fires instantly

The chains running these notifications through their own direct channel (not through delivery platforms) keep the full margin on every order they drive.

4. Localized social media campaigns

Football fans are highly active on social during matches. Effective tactics during the tournament:

• Interactive polls tied to match outcomes
• Localized ads targeting regions based on which teams are playing, if the Netherlands is in a big match, Dutch chains push harder in that window
• Influencer partnerships tied to specific match days or local team rivalries

5. Operations: prepare for peak volume

A record-breaking order night needs a system that can handle it. The 2022 World Cup saw platforms handling nearly three times their usual daily order volume in a single evening. Before the tournament starts, make sure:

• Your online ordering and POS systems are stress-tested for peak volume. On-premise systems are most at risk; cloud-based platforms handle surges significantly better
• Your delivery zones are optimised. Priority zones closest to stores stay active, secondary zones can be managed based on capacity
• Your kitchen display system is set up to handle high-volume nights without errors or delays
• You have an offline mode ready in case of technical issues. Losing your ordering system on a World Cup final night is a worst-case scenario worth preparing for.

Turning World Cup customers into loyal direct-ordering customers

The World Cup creates a window of high-frequency ordering behaviour. The chains that win long-term are the ones that use that window to shift customers from aggregators to their own channel permanently.

The mechanics that work best during tournament season:

• Double loyalty points on match days. Makes direct ordering through your own app significantly more rewarding than ordering through Uber Eats or Deliveroo
• First-time app order discount. Target customers who have previously ordered through platforms and give them one compelling reason to try your direct channel during the tournament
• Post-match re-engagement. 24 hours after a big match, send a push notification to everyone who ordered: “You watched the match. The next one’s in 4 days. Pre-order now.”
• Tournament streak rewards. Loyalty points or free items for customers who order during every group stage match of their supported team. Creates habit across the full tournament window

The goal isn’t just a revenue spike in June and July. It’s acquiring direct-ordering customers during a period of peak engagement and keeping them after the final game on July 19.

The direct ordering advantage during major events

Here’s something most chains haven’t fully calculated: every order that comes through the delivery platforms during the World Cup carries the same 25–35% commission it carries every other day. The spike in volume is real, but so are the commissions.

The QSR chains that run effective direct ordering campaigns during major events shift a meaningful percentage of that volume onto their own channel. At 50 locations doing €30,000 in monthly delivery revenue each, moving 15 percentage points of orders off a 28% commission platform is worth over €630,000 a year. A World Cup campaign that accelerates that shift pays for itself many times over.