AWARDS
Zhong Lun Advises Renowned International FMCG Enterprise on FIFA World Cup 2026 Marketing Compliance
Zhong Lun Advises Renowned International FMCG Enterprise on FIFA World Cup 2026 Marketing Compliance
Recently, Zhong Lun Law Firm was engaged by an internationally renowned FMCG company to provide compliance legal services for its marketing campaign for the FIFA World Cup 2026. Addressing complex legal issues including the application of FIFA regulations, team and player image rights, intellectual property, and unfair competition, the Zhong Lun team delivered a practical and implementable compliance framework, supporting the compliant rollout of the client's multi-channel marketing activities during the World Cup.
In this project, the client entered into an authorized sponsorship cooperation with a national football association, under which it was granted the right to use the team's collective image and the images of renowned players in its World Cup marketing. The core challenges were that FIFA maintains a complex and stringent regulatory framework for World Cup marketing that does not directly align with diverse FMCG scenarios, requiring abstract rules to be precisely mapped to each specific activity and material; meanwhile, the client's campaign was already in the execution phase, leaving an extremely tight timeline. The central issue of the project was how to leverage the licensed content within regulatory boundaries while avoiding unauthorized associations or improper use of restricted elements. The project also involved delineating the boundaries between the team's collective image rights and individual players' image rights, IP compliance across the marketing chain, and guarding against ambush marketing.
Adopting a working approach of "FIFA rules as the primary framework, supplemented by team authorizations, with a focus on practical implementation," the Zhong Lun team established a full-process compliance system covering rule interpretation, conflict analysis, risk mapping, usage guidelines, material review, and contingency planning. The team compared the client's authorized rights against FIFA restrictions item by item to clarify permitted, restricted, and prohibited scenarios, produced a consistency analysis report to control risks at the source, and translated legal advice into operational guidelines directly implementable by business teams.
Within a short timeframe, the team completed a comprehensive compliance review and optimization of all of the client's marketing plans, materials, activities, and rights usage, properly managing potential conflicts between team authorizations and FIFA rules and achieving overall compliance across the sports law, IP, and unfair competition dimensions. The project was led by Zhong Lun partner Haijun Zhang, with attorney Zhe Du handling the matter throughout and partner Xiong Li providing key support.
Professionals
-
-
Carl LI
Equity Partner
ShanghaiPractices： Cross-border Investment/M&A,Compliance & Investigation,Litigation & ArbitrationIndustries： Telecom & Information,Intelligence Technology & Application,Smart Logistics & Supply Chain,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences -
Carl LI
Equity Partner
Shanghai
-
