As the FIFA World Cup 2026 enters its penultimate phase with semi-finals set to kick off later tonight, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola have partnered to launch limited-period Football Meals.

The campaign has been launched by Westlife Foodworld, the owner of McDonald’s restaurants in West and South India. Accordingly, these limited-time Football Meals are available across South and West India only.

To capitalise on the Football World Cup fever, these meals come with limited-edition McDonald’s x Coca-Cola football collectible and are priced at Rs 349 or more depending on meal composition.

“Watching football in large groups is a cultural phenomenon that is unmatched. Through our longstanding partnership with Coca-Cola India we are able to make game day traditions more fun and exciting, staying true to our ‘Let’s Family at McD’ philosophy of bringing people closer over shared moments,” a McDonald’s India (West & South) spokesperson was quoted as saying.

McDonald’s India posted on its Instagram page: “Share the meal. Share the game. The new Football Meal has arrived on the McDonald’s App starting at ₹349, complete with an exclusive football to keep the fun rolling long after the match ends. Because every great game deserves great food and even better company. Get yours before the season sells out! Available in West & South regions. Valid in-store only on the McDonald’s app! Available on select burgers.”

A Coca-Cola India spokesperson added on the campaign: “Football fans don’t just watch the game, they build an occasion around it, bringing friends and family and celebrating the game together. That is the spirit intended to be captured with the Football Meals. Coca-Cola and McDonald’s have been part of each other’s story for decades. This collaboration enables us to bring something new to the ‘Let’s Family at McD’ story, a collectible that fans can keep as a memory for years to come.”

The post As FIFA World Cup finale nears, McDonald’s India and Coca-Cola launch meals with limited-edition football appeared first on India Communication Forum.

India’s leading media company, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), made a big bet by bagging the rights to broadcast the FIFA 2026 World Cup in the Indian subcontinent.

It launched two linear sports channels – Unite8 Sports 1 and 2 – to telecast the matches live, while upgraded its Zee5 platform to stream the matches digitally.

All Zee5 subscribers have to purchase a dedicated FIFA pack on the OTT platform to stream football World Cup matches. The packs are priced at Rs 799 for 3 months and Rs 1699 for a year.

The around Rs 300 crore investment for the eight-year FIFA deal is already paying off. ZEEL has recorded more than 100 million viewers across its linear TV, digital and social media platforms during the opening weekend of what is possibly the world’s biggest sporting tournament.

And now, the company has announced that 15% of the revenue that it will generate from subscriptions for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be contributed towards the upliftment of Indian football.

Zee has said that it is empowering every Zee5 subscriber watching football on its platform to contribute towards identifying, training and uplifting young talent from across the country.

As part of the initiative, Zee will partner with several organisations, including the All India Football Federation (AIFF), to support talent at the grassroots level. These partnerships will be forged at state and district levels as well other than at the national level.

Raksha Khadse, the Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports, has welcomed Zee’s move.

“I congratulate ZEE for taking a commendable step towards strengthening Indian football by dedicating a substantial portion of the subscription revenue generated during the FIFA World Cup 2026 season towards the development of football across India. This initiative aligns with the larger vision of transforming India into a global sporting powerhouse,” the minister wrote on X.

“ZEE’s commitment to nurturing young football talent and creating scalable league formats across cities, districts and states will further strengthen the pathway from grassroots participation to elite sporting excellence. The journey towards India’s Olympic dream requires collective efforts from the Government, sports bodies, corporates and communities. Initiatives like these will provide our young athletes with greater opportunities, better platforms and the confidence to compete at the highest global stage,” the minister added.

The post How Zee5 is enabling every FIFA WC paying subscriber to fund Indian football growth appeared first on India Communication Forum.

India, 11th June 2026: Football is set to take over screens, conversations, cafés, living rooms, and communities across the country as ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports unveil ‘Poora India Watchega’, a nationwide campaign celebrating the FIFA World Cup 2026™. The World Cup arrives at exactly the right moment. Football careers that define an era are drawing to a close, while a new generation stands ready to rise. And for the first time, 48 nations will take the pitch.

‘Poora India Watchega’ lives in the space between generations of fandom the fan who has carried this sport for decades, the one who tunes in every four years, and the one who is about to fall in love with it this June. It’s a nation discovering football together, each at its own pace but moving as one.

Developed by Talented and mktgstack, the campaign invites all of India into football’s biggest moment. Anchored by a high-energy brand film, directed by Atul Kattukara with First December Films, the campaign captures how football comes alive across homes, streets, cafés, workplaces, and communities during the FIFA World Cup. Through moments of celebration, rivalry, nervous excitement, and shared joy, the film reflects how the sport has the power to bring people together, whether they are die-hard football fans or simply joining in for the excitement of the occasion.

‘Poora India Watchega’ campaign will roll out through strategic brand partnerships, creator-led integrations, and a large-scale digital outreach strategy spanning 200+ websites, alongside visibility across Connected TVs, food and delivery apps, sports apps, and digital sports communities PAN India, making the tournament impossible to miss no matter where audiences are engaging from.
Brand film: Link

Kartik Mahadev, Chief Marketing Officer, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. stated, “At ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports, we want the audience to watch FIFA World Cup together. FIFA World Cup is an experience that goes beyond the core football fandom, and ‘Poora India Watchega’ brings that spirit alive. Every four years, football goes beyond its core fans and becomes something everyone wants to be part of. It’s about watching with friends, picking favourite teams overnight, celebrating every goal, and getting swept up in the emotion. Through this campaign, we’ve aimed to make the World Cup feel welcoming, exciting, whether you’ve followed football for years or are tuning in for the first time.”

Adding to this, Bavesh Janavlekar, Chief Business Officer, Unite8 Sports, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd., said, “The FIFA World Cup 2026™ marks a defining moment for global football with legends nearing the end of an era, new stars rising, and an expanded 48-team format making it more inclusive than ever. It’s this scale and cultural impact that makes the tournament bigger than just the sport. ‘Poora India Watchega’ is built for every kind of fan lifelong followers, once-in-four-years viewers, and those discovering the game for the first time bringing an immersive, an experience that connects with audiences across India and helps grow a lasting football culture.”

Karishma Changroth & Sanket Audhi, Founding Members at Talented, “It takes a whole squad playing at the top of their form to bring a campaign of this scale to life. ‘Poora India Watchega’ is powered by high trust, agility and shared ambition across ZEE5, Unite8 Sports, Talented, mktgstack and our production partners at First December Films to create a World Cup experience that feels as big and energetic as the fans it is made for.”
Talented has led the creative and strategic development of ‘Poora India Watchega’. On social and digital, mktgstack, part of the Talented Grid, is building football culture online that makes the tournament feel unmissable, even before kickoff.

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be available in Hindi, English, Bangla and Malayalam across ZEE5 and the newly launched Unite8 Sports channels, bringing fans closer to every goal, celebration and unforgettable moment in the language they love.tball fandom in the country.

The post ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports Bring Football’s Biggest Stage to India: 48 Nations, One Emotion, ‘Poora India Watchega’ appeared first on India Communication Forum.

Indian advertisers breathed a sigh of relief on Monday after Zee Entertainment finally signed a deal with FIFA, football’s governing body, to broadcast the upcoming World Cup in a nation of nearly one-and-a-half-billion people.

The deal came through after months of deadlock between FIFA and Indian broadcasters over the valuation of rights. The deadlock was fast appearing to lead to a situation where one of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the FIFA World Cup 2026, would possibly not be available live in India.

India, in fact, was among the very few major markets where the telecast rights had remained unsold so near the start of the mega event on June 11.

As of now, the value of the deal has not been disclosed – FIFA had initially asked for nearly $100 million for the 2026 and 2030 editions but later slashed the demand to $60 million.

But Indian broadcasters were not ready to shell out even that amount for the tournament as the live telecast for most matches in India would begin past 12 midnight. This is because the 2026 World Cup is being held in the US, Canada and Mexico. This was seen as a major hurdle by the broadcasters in generating enough advertising revenue from the tournament to compensate for the money being paid for the rights.

As per information available, only 14 out of the total 104 World Cup games will kick-off before midnight India time. The final, to be held in New Jersey on July 19, will start at 12:30 am on July 20 in India.

If we compare with the previous editions, around 98% of matches started before midnight India time during the 2018 World Cup, and more than 82% at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

It was reported that JioStar was ready to shell out between $20-25 million for the deal but backed out once it became clear that FIFA was not keen on the same.

Zee Entertainment entered the race at the very last moment and was reported to offer between $30-35 million for the rights. The media house also announced the launch of 4 sports channels in anticipation of bagging the rights to telecast the Football World Cup.

Zee is looking to make a comeback to sports broadcasting in India where JioStar, a joint venture between Reliance and Disney-Star, holds key sports telecast rights, including for the Indian Premier League, ICC cricket tournaments and the English Premier League.

As per the announcement, Zee has bagged rights to telecast 39 FIFA tournaments in India through 2034, including the 2026 and 2030 FIFA World Cups and the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

With the deal for the 2026 edition finally done, Indian brands are now looking to capitalise on the football craze in the country, especially youngsters, as they believe the odd hour timing of matches would not hold back diehard football fans from tuning in.

The post FIFA World Cup 2026 will be telecast LIVE in India, thanks to Zee; advertisers look to capitalise on the mega tournament appeared first on India Communication Forum.