From football, tennis and cricket to F1 and esports, today’s sporting personalities are no longer confined to their respective fields and arenas. In this age of cross-platform identity building, where social media reels and advertising placements promise bigger and more heterogeneous fandoms than niche crowds, sporting leagues as well as players are diversifying their images beyond the field. Similarly, pop culture has found a profitable crossroads with sports. Sports and performing arts may be poles apart as far as aesthetics are concerned, but what unites them is the devoted support of fandoms. While top fashion and lifestyle brands as well as pop culture platforms have started leveraging the global sports fanbase by signing athletes as promotional faces, sporting leagues have also started embracing pop culture as part and parcel of the whole experience of watching and celebrating every game. Headlining performances by top musical icons, official anthems and collaboration between sports teams and streaming platforms have emerged as essential elements to make sports relevant for not just niche audiences but common fandoms.
Rashmika Mandanna and Shubman Gill for Crunchyroll, Carlos Sainz
Football fever beyond the stadium: Soundtrack, league performances and advertising collabs
The earliest connection between sports and pop culture originates in stadium anthems and special showcases by top musical artistes in prestigious global sporting leagues. Right from Ricky Martin’s The Cup of Life, performed back in 1998, Shakira’s Waka Waka, a song that created huge global buzz around the World Cup, to more recent performances by legendary pop stars like Jennifer Lopez (2014) and Will Smith (2018), at the FIFA World Cup, one of the grandest football tournaments, has largely contributed to the intersection of sporting and pop culture fandoms globally.
The NFL Super Bowl halftime show is another significant contributor to the joined forces of sports and pop culture buzz. Right from legendary names like Michael Jackson, Diana Ross and Stevie Wonder, who shared the stage for the show in the ’90s, to later sensations like Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Eminem, The Weeknd and others, the NFL has showcased some of the most popular faces in pop history.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is set to bring together iconic acts from multiple genres and timelines, with legendary singer Madonna and Latin-American musical sensation Shakira to co-headline the Final Halftime Show with BTS, the Grammy-nominated K-pop group which currently stands as the most followed boy group across social platforms.
More significant than the live performances is perhaps the soaring popularity of the official FIFA anthems released by trending pop artistes during every season of the league. The official song of the league in 2010, titled Waka Waka, by Shakira, became a huge sensation worldwide, drawing in pop culture fans into the sporting scheme as well. And 2014 saw Jennifer Lopez teaming up with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte for Ole Ola (We are One), a trilingual number in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Legendary actor and singer Will Smith featured in the 2018 official song for the Cup, titled Live it Up. For Asian pop culture, 2022 was a big year as it made its presence felt strongly in the FIFA World Cup soundtrack. Jungkook, the youngest member of BTS, went behind the scenes of Dreamers, one of the songs for the FIFA World Cup soundtrack, while Bollywood actor and performer Nora Fatehi featured in another number, Light the Sky.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup soundtrack has also created quite a buzz, with Shakira making a grand comeback to the tournament with Dai Dai in collaboration with Burna Boy, and Lisa, member of leading K-pop girl group BLACKPINK making her musical debut in FIFA with Anitta and Rema, on the song Goals.
What makes the FIFA World Cup soundtrack and stadium performances more than another set of entertaining crowd-pullers is the strategy driving the artiste lineups for each season. In 2026, K-pop is a formidable force to reckon with in global music, especially with the return of BTS after their four-year hiatus, as well as BLACKPINK’s resumption of group activities after members reunited following a solo period. BTS is a group which millions of fans have been dying to see perform again for a long period, and a grander platform could not have been imagined for them than the FIFA Finals stage. Alongside legends Shakira and Madonna co-headlining the show, this year’s FIFA World Cup will certainly see a historic treat for sports and pop culture fandoms. Lisa is also set to perform for the opening ceremony of the Cup this year.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has also drawn in pop culture fandoms with successful advertising collaborations, making a case for the steadily deepening intersection between the realms of sports, music and the silver screen. This year’s World Cup campaign by Lay’s, the globally popular potato chips brand, united football legends Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Thierry Henry and Alexia Putellas with actor Steve Carell, in an iconic “watch party” promoting the league. Academy Award nominee Timothee Chalamet also joins forces with pop sensation Bad Bunny in Backyard Legends, a 2026 advertising campaign by Adidas, alongside football stars Messi, Lamine Yamal, Trinity Rodman and Jude Bellingham.
Indian cricket: A revenue mammoth for global brands
While cricket is mostly enjoyed by a niche fandom in the present global scheme of things, with minimal interference from the glamour world as far as promotions on worldwide levels are concerned, the cricketing scene in India has always gone hand in hand with wider cultural spheres, from fashion and lifestyle to pop culture. The Indian Premier League, played between franchises representing multiple zones in the country, has historically been a point of intersection between sports, commerce, and international cultural exposure. With celebrity performances, player auctions headed by commercial giants of the country as well as top brands being on the lookout for the next fresh face in cricket, the IPL is at the heart of Indian sport assuming a pop cultural value.
Shubman Gill, Smriti Mandhana and Abhishek Sharma
When rising stars of the IPL go on to play international matches as representatives of the country, the buzz is grander than ever, especially with the current social media craze. Fandom speculations before key matches, the quest to find the next “national crush” in cricket, and brand partnerships that draw in diverse fandoms for the cricket industry as well as targeting the youth as customers have made Indian cricketers much more than what they represent within the stadium’s 22 yards.
While Virat Kohli, M.S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma and others have been iconic cricket poster boys through the last couple of decades, ruling billboards, magazine covers and advertisements, Gen Z’s cricket idols, well-versed in the social media game, make sure to sustain a multi-faceted identity, from curating trend-conscious outfits and sitting for popular podcasts and magazine features to creating unique, “Instagrammable” aesthetics on their feed.
Smriti Mandhana, the vice-captain of the Indian women’s national cricket team, and captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore women’s team, is acclaimed for her solid performance with the bat in the 22 yards as well as frequently going viral for her captivating fashion statements, with standout looks from the BCCI Naman Awards and the RCB “MET Gala” night.
After the historic first-time victory in the Women’s ODI World Cup for team India, Smriti scripted history as the first ever cricketer in the world to have a Barbie doll modelled after herself, as part of Mattel’s 2026 project, the Barbie Dream Team, representing rising female achievers from diverse fields. Smriti is also the face of multiple fashion and lifestyle powerhouses, including the Swiss timepiece brand Rado; vehicle brand Hyundai; skincare giant Garnier; beverage brand Red Bull and others.
The team India captain in men’s Tests and ODIs, Shubman Gill, is one of the fastest growing global names in Indian cricket. The 26-year-old batsman cuts an arresting picture at red carpet events and public appearances with his classic, vintage style, as well as being the face of leading brands, from athleisure, fashion, lifestyle to streaming platforms. His 2025 collaboration with leading Bollywood actor Rashmika Mandanna to promote the Indian counterpart of Crunchyroll, a global anime streaming giant, brought together the dedicated fandoms supporting sports, anime and cinema. Gill is also the first Indian celebrity to have featured for a cover shoot wearing Jonathan Anderson’s debut Dior Summer 2026 menswear collection. In the 2023 movie Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse, Shubman made his screen debut as the voice actor behind Pavitr Prabhakar, the Indian Spiderman avatar, for the Hindi and Punjabi-dubbed versions of the film.
The cricketer is also one of the leading faces in the Indian lifestyle market, having bagged partnerships with the likes of Nike, Oakley, MRF, Gilette and more. In October 2022, Gill also made a much-talked-about Lakme Fashion Week runway debut as showstopper for designer Kanika Goyal, endorsing a sportswear line launched in collaboration with Gujarat Titans, the IPL franchise currently captained by the cricketer.
Indian T20 superstar Abhishek Sharma is not far behind Smriti and Shubman as far as the journey from the 22 yards of the stadium to global cultural conversations are concerned. Currently the top-ranking T20 batsman in the world according to the International Cricket Council charts, Abhishek’s charismatic looks and screen presence have been capitalised on by major lifestyle brands and fashion labels. In July 2025, Abhishek made his runway debut for designer JJ Valaya, opening the grand finale of the Hyundai India Couture Week. The cricketer’s collaboration with Bollywood icon Kriti Sanon for the latest advertising campaign by leading toothpaste brand Colgate gained a lot of attention from sports and pop culture enthusiasts alike, with fans admiring the attractive visuals of the duo. In August 2025, the cricketer became the first Indian face for YSL (Yves Saint Laurent) Beauty, solidifying his status as a highly sought-after face in the global lifestyle market.
From racing stars to poster boys: F1 icons shaping global culture
Even a few years ago, the world of professional racing was a little too complicated for fans outside of the niche to grasp casually. To follow races closely, a whole roster of lessons on aerodynamics, tier technicalities and racing arena histories had to be grasped by the viewer. Up till the recent years, F1 racers were a homogeneous bunch donning the same, impenetrable helmets, their faces and personas completely unknown to fans. Streaming culture and simulation-based racing games arrived and changed everything, turning F1 races into global sensations overnight, with racers gaining the reputation of global cultural icons.
It all started with Drive to Survive, a hugely successful Netflix series which unveiled the individual stories of drivers behind the high-octane, seemingly mechanical world of F1 races. Since its first season aired in 2019, the series has covered the human equations behind the sport: contracts negotiated, the passion and ambition of drivers, inside glimpses of key rivalries, and the pressures of the F1 season.
The most significant aspect of the series, which allowed the sport to gain not just temporary enthusiasm but dedicated fandom support, was the deep insight into the individual backgrounds of the drivers, supplying stories which fans can relate to, inspiring them to keep following the figures. Naturally, F1 racers are now household names and global poster boys for fashion, beauty and lifestyle industries. Two-time World Champion for Renault, Fernando Alonso, was named the brand ambassador for German fashion powerhouse Boss, and Pierre Gasley, who won his first Grand Prix in 2020 at Monza with AlphaTauri, is a regular face at Paris Fashion Week and Louis Vuitton shows. Gasley was also named beauty brand ambassador for Givenchy.
Lewis Hamilton, who has won seven World Champion titles since 2008 till 2020, has collaborated with global luxury powerhouse Dior to launch a capsule lifestyle collection, along with Kim Jones. Carlos Sainz, a charming young racer who has won four Grand Prix with Ferrari, was named global ambassador for L’Oreal Paris in 2025.
In 2025, with the release of F1: The Movie, the global pop cultural scene gave a certain nod to the wider relevance of the sport beyond the racing arenas. The film stars Brad Pitt, who plays Sonny Hayes, a retired F1 driver whose career stumbled after an injury, along with Damson Idris, who plays Joshua Pearce, a young, new racer who is not so fond of Hayes, his racing partner.
With cameos by leading racers including Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Charles Leclerc and George Russell, with musical legend Ed Sheeran contributing to the lyrics, production and recording of the film’s soundtrack, the project made a strong statement for the intersection of the world of sport, music and the silver screen.
Court Charisma: Tennis leagues driving global markets
The four Grand Slams in tennis have always attracted attention not only from sports enthusiasts, but from the worlds of pop culture and fashion as well, with major focus on celebrity spottings in the stands and fashion statements made by players on the court, mostly in collaboration with major athleisiure brands. Whether it is the Australian Open, Roland Garros, US Open or Wimbledon, spotting celebrity attendees in the stands is a big part of the whole experience of current tennis fandoms.
Jannik Sinner
In July 2025, Hollywood power couple Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Nick Jonas were spotted in the Wimbledon stands, with rising pop icon Olivia Rodrigo and actor Louis Partridge also making an appearance. Leonardo DiCaprio and Cate Blanchett were among the Hollywood A-listers attending the tournament, with Tom Holland, Keira Knightley, John Cena and Emily in Paris lead actor Lily Collins also in attendance. A star-studded finals weekend concluded the Roland Garros 2025, with celebrity attendees including actor Natalie Portman, Lily Collins, F1 racing driver George Russell, and more. Liam Hemsworth of Hunger Games fame made a much-talked-about appearance at the Australian Open 2026, with leading K-pop boy group Seventeen’s DK also in the stands. Tennis legend Rafael Nadal was also in attendance.
Apart from celebrity-spotting, the Grand Slams have also served as platforms for iconic court fashion moments through the years. Japanese tennis player Naomi Osaka paid a stylish tribute to her roots in a pink-themed ensemble inspired by the colours of the Japanese cherry blossom, paired with chunky, flower-shaped pink hairclips and matching sakura-toned Nike GP Challenge 1 “Osaka” shoes. Coco Gauff’s stunning all-lavender ensemble at the 2026 Australian Open was a sight to behold, radiating breezy, sporty vibes. Alongside Coco, Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic channeled a dreamy pastel spectrum with her bright sleeveless top striped with blue, pink, red and peach, and a layered blue skirt, an ensemble by Original Penguin. American player Frances Tiafoe kept it fun and quirky in a white Lulumelon ensemble with spray-based details, a colour combination named by the brand as “Spray Slam Blue Green Multi”.
Carlos Alcaraz
With the convergence between tennis and fashion thanks to innovative court looks created by players with top brands, the fashion industry has also started leveraging tennis icons as faces to promote their collections among the youth. In 2023, Gucci signed Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner as a global brand ambassador, while Louis Vuitton named Wimbledon 2023 and US Open 2022 winner Carlos Alcaraz their House Ambassador in the same year. British tennis player Jack Draper was enlisted as a global face for the luxury fashion house Burberry in 2025.
