For this year's World Cup, hosted across three North American nations, FIFA is selling over 300 official tournament souvenirs. Among these, the plush mascot set representing the three host countries has been exclusively entrusted to Jazwares for production. Jazwares is currently one of the world's leading toy companies and a subsidiary of billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Group.

Jazwares was founded in 1997 in Sunrise, Florida, US. In 2022, Berkshire Hathaway acquired the toy manufacturer through its subsidiary, Alleghany Corporation. This acquisition provided Jazwares with additional resources to expand its global operations.

Under its agreement with FIFA, Jazwares is responsible for developing the three mascot models: Clutch (representing the US), Maple (representing Canada), and Zayu (representing Mexico). In addition to these three products, Jazwares also produces and sells other World Cup 2026 merchandise, such as model balls, championship trophies, and plush toys.

Neither Jazwares nor FIFA has disclosed detailed sales figures for these souvenir products. However, to date, the Maple and Zayu models, along with the gold cup replica, have already sold out on Jazwares' online store and at official FIFA retail points.

In the international market, Berkshire Hathaway's company is also well-known for owning and being licensed to distribute toys from brands such as Squishmallows, Pokemon, Hello Kitty, Star Wars, and Disney.

The three mascot models, Clutch, Maple, and Zayu, representing the three co-hosting nations of World Cup 2026 – the US, Canada, and Mexico – produced by Jazwares.

The World Cup 2026 is also considered the largest merchandise retail program in the tournament's history. Beyond Jazwares, FIFA has licensed over 100 other partners for product manufacturing and distribution.

FIFA reported that the retail program has significantly surpassed initial expectations and forecasts. Official World Cup 2026 merchandise is available from FIFA's official stands to thousands of pharmacies, convenience stores, supermarkets, airports, and transit hubs across the US.

Through a collaboration with Prepango, these items are also placed in vending machines in high-traffic areas.

Before securing the rights to commercialize World Cup 2026 products, In Motion Design had not held distribution licenses for any sports league or entertainment brand. For this tournament, In Motion Design participated in the bidding process to win the right to distribute souvenirs through convenience stores, supermarkets, and pharmacies.

The company's products include hats, thermal cups, towels, sports water bottles, and thermal bags for cans, featuring either the World Cup logo or custom designs for each host city. In Motion Design estimates it has sold 2-3 million World Cup souvenirs, including keychains and badges that they distributed on behalf of Honav USA, another FIFA-licensed partner.

Stu Crystal, a commercial licensing expert and former head of consumer products for Major League Soccer (MLS), noted that FIFA's current retail campaign is larger in scale than most previous World Cups.

"The World Cup is the world's largest sporting event, and the US appears to be entering a soccer boom. These two factors are combining effectively," Crystal shared.

FIFA's approach at World Cup 2026 could open new business avenues for sports leagues in the US. According to Rachel Hoagland, Vice President of Consumer Products for MLS, previous tournaments had limited retail channels, and the preparation time for events like the MLS Cup final was quite short.

However, by selling tournament merchandise in convenience stores, supermarkets, and pharmacies, as FIFA has done, Hoagland believes this strategy can help MLS and its teams connect with fans regularly in their daily lives. "After the World Cup, when interest in soccer surges, MLS can leverage that momentum to attract more fans," she stated.

Meanwhile, FIFA has already begun expanding this retail strategy to subsequent tournaments. In Motion Design leadership confirmed they have renewed their license to continue distributing merchandise through US retail channels for the Women's World Cup 2027 in Brazil.

Tu Anh (according to Jazwares/Sports Business Journal)