OLP 2026: Pitch(ed) Battles: The Legal and Practical Hurdles of Hosting a World Cup

Hosting the FIFA World Cup brings contracts, intellectual property, compliance pitfalls, billion-dollar risks, and potential cross-border disputes along with the most watched sporting event in the world. What does it take to put on one of the biggest sporting events on the planet, and what really goes on behind the scenes when hosting the World Cup? This one-hour webinar featured legal counsel from FIFA alongside a lawyer who worked to secure host city status, dives into the high-stakes legal work that protects brands and sponsorships, guards against counterfeits and ambush marketing, and enforces clean-zone rules and other IP safeguards. It also broke down the regulatory, labor, safety, and risk-allocation challenges host cities must navigate in conjunction with the pressure to build infrastructure, manage procurement, and minimize community impact—all while meeting FIFA’s strict operational standards.