Brand awareness is top of mind for athletic brands, and what better venue this year than FIFA Men’s World Cup.

For marketers, the next few months will be critical. Strong storytelling that resonates with consumers creates brand heat that could bring residual sales at a time when Nike‘s turnaround continues to hit speed bump and a challenging climate in Europe is impacting the sector as a whole.

With the tournament set to kick off in the United States, Mexico and Canada in June, there has been a flurry of activity among the top two competing brands, Nike and Adidas.

World Cup fever is building momentum for the soccer cleat category, good news for brands following a 12-month lull in interest, according footwear expert and soccer.com’s director of consumer merchandising Billy Lalor. Product introductions are already ramping up ahead of the World Cup — the match schedule is over two months, June and July.

In fact, Nike and Adidas, have been piling on the announcements about soccer-inspired footwear, alongside a plethora of new team kits.

Among the highlights, Nike is prepping for the World Cup with versions of its essential Air Force 1 sneakers for the United States Men’s National Team, which has carries the official “Team USA” badge, and its chief rival Mexico, which just has the heel tag “Mexico Tiempo FC” as the team is Adidas-sponsored. Swoosh is also celebrating the role the U.S. has as World Cup host country with all-new jersey designs featuring American motifs as part of its 2026 team kits for U.S. soccer players.

The sports brand is also reissuing for the first time since its 2013 launch one of Kobe Bryant’s fan-favorite signature styles, the Nike Kobe 8 Protro “Mambacurial” sneaker. The low-cut ankle shoe will feature the original purple-to-pink mesh upper along with a bright green Swoosh at the toe, plus an upgraded drop-in insole for improved responsiveness.

Adidas last month opened its first U.S.-focused soccer store in a 9,000 square-foot space at the American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, N.J., offering an immersive, soccer-driven retail experience. American Dream said last month that the Adidas opening is part of a broader line-up of World Cup-related initiatives planned by the mall this year as it positions itself as a destination for sports fans and global events.

Adidas also has three “Bringback” colorways for its Gazelle sneakers as part of a capsule for three countries, Mexico, Argentina and Columbia. The sneakers are available at the Dick’s Sporting Goods’ website. The capsule is part of the Bring Back collection that revives vintage soccer styles — think Adidas jerseys, tracksuits and tees — from legendary teams and matches.

Another highlight is Adidas and Yohji Yamamoto bringing back their Y-3 “Beast Pact” boots from 2006, this time without the cleats as the shoe returns as thin-sole sneakers. The pair of shoes, available in July, are priced at $300 each.

Puma isn’t expected to introduce any shoe launches for the World Cup, but that doesn’t mean it won’t have a presence at the event. In its October earnings conference call, Puma CEO Arthur Hoeld ticked off a list of things Puma needs to correct, including — perhaps more importantly — the need to pack in some brand heat at sporting events this year.

Hoeld cited the World Cup at the company’s fourth quarter earnings conference call on Feb. 26 the FIFA World Cup, noting that its sponsored teams will give the brand “a strong, strong presence at one of the most prolific sporting events later this year.” Puma last month unveiled team kits for its 11 sponsored nations, including teams from Portugal, Morocco, Ghana, Paraguay, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Switzerland, New Zealand, Austria and Egypt.

Puma, which now counts Anta as its largest shareholder — has set 2026 as its year of transition, with a plan to return to above industry growth rates as of 2027. It is also focused on Hyrox and F1, two sports that are dominating the conversation.

Soccer.com’s Lalor said the Puma brand is expected to have a bigger presence in soccer footwear in 2027, which coincides with FIFA Women’s World Cup with Brazil as the host country.

Sneaker brand Reebok marked its reentry into the soccer market via an endorsement deal inked last month with Dušan Vlahović, one of Europe’s top forwards.

The long-term partnership with the professional football star as the face of Reebok Football apparel and footwear includes the summer debut of the Sidewinder, a performance football boot. Reebok followed a week later with the signing of a second endorsement deal, this time with elite European defender Trevoh Chalobah. Chalobah debuted the new Sidewinder during last month’s UEFA Champions League knockout match.

The big question for the footwear players is how many shoes can they sell. According to Matt Powell, senior advisor at BCE Consulting, these big sporting tentpoles are more effective as marketing occasions rather than sales drivers, although he did note a “very small lift for a couple of weeks” for the footwear sector.