Scaling sports partnerships:
Inside Diageo’s plan for the biggest FIFA World Cup™

As the 100 days count down to the FIFA World Cup 2026™ begins, we’re getting ready to be the Official Spirits Supporter in the Americas of the FIFA World Cup 2026™. In this episode of A ‘Minute’ With, we speak with Rick Pineda, Vice President Global Sports at Diageo, to explore how sports partnerships create powerful opportunities for Diageo to connect with consumers and how we’re making sure our brands will be at the moments where football, community and celebration intersect this summer.

Diageo’s series, A ‘Minute’ With, offers a glimpse behind the brands and partnerships you know - and the people building them. Meet the leaders responsible for creating and executing world class strategies, campaigns, products and activations, the ones balancing big ambition with everyday decisions. Explore their career journeys, what drives them, what inspires their thinking - and what genuinely keeps them up at night.

Community and creativity

Rick Pineda has always been passionate about sports. From being the goalkeeper in his high school soccer team, to managing partnerships at JetBlue and FanDuel to now heading up Diageo’s Global Sports Partnerships including the NFL and the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026™. If there’s one thing that’s consistently stood out to him, it’s the importance of teamwork – across Diageo teams and in close partnership with those we collaborate with.

When it comes to sporting partnerships, they have the potential to lock into huge cultural moments. And when exploring new partnerships, Rick looks for ones that have a vibrant, passionate fan base, that allow our brands to play an authentic and meaningful role in fans’ experiences, as well as partners that believe in community and creativity, just like we do.

This is where the FIFA World Cup 2026™ and our title as the Official Spirits Supporter in the Americas comes in. The tournament isn’t just about football; it’s a global occasion, whether people are watching in a stadium, in bars, or in the comfort of their own homes. For six weeks, consumers are talking about it around the world – before the matches, during the matches, after the matches – with friends, family, work colleagues, sometimes people they’ve only just met.

Bringing our brands to life

Football is the world’s biggest sport (Global Sports Report Neilsen 2025) and The FIFA World Cup 2026™ will be the biggest tournament in FIFA’s history: six weeks, 104 matches and three host countries. Across the Americas we have over 20 countries from Mexico, Brazil and Colombia to the US and Canada, activating across five of our brands, Don Julio, Buchanan’s, Casamigos, Johnnie Walker and Smirnoff, bringing us unmatched scale at the forefront of culture.

We will bring our brands to life through on-the-ground activations, new advertising campaigns, limited edition bottles and retail programmes across all 16 host cities, always anchored in responsible drinking and community celebration.

As an Official Tequila Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026™, Casamigos invites fans to embrace friendly rivalry and come together over shared margaritas. Casamigos' rallying cry for the tournament is “Rivals at the Game, Casamigos at the Bar,” and central to the program is the most important rivalry of all: Are you Team Classic Margarita or Team Spicy Margarita? This friendly competition comes to life in every element of the plan and most importantly, with the launch of new Casamigos Pre-Mixed Margaritas crafted from 100% Blue Weber Agave tequila in Classic Lime and Spicy, allowing fans to participate from the comfort of their homes.

Tequila Don Julio has unveiled a limited-edition 1942 bottle: a tribute to the world’s game and the unforgettable moments that bring us together. This special edition design honours the artistry of tequila-making - a symbol of excellence as timeless and universal as football itself. The bottle is reimagined, but the liquid inside remains the same iconic Tequila Don Julio, celebrated around the world for its exceptional craftmanship.

Encased in a luminous gold bottle inspired by the FIFA World Cup™ trophy and crowned with a malachite closure, it captures the spirit of victory, pride, and elevated celebration. A trophy, reimagined — one that everyone can bring home.

Buchanan’s and Nuestro Mundo

Our Buchanan’s Scotch Whisky brand is kicking off a music-fuelled celebration with 2X Latin GRAMMY® winner Rauw Alejandro. Through this campaign, Buchanan’s is inviting fans to step into Nuestro Mundo (our world), where for us the FIFA World Cup 2026™ is more than a tournament. It’s a family reunion four years in the making, where every goal is a golaaaaazo, every celebration spills into extra time and the ritmo keeps going long after the final whistle.

Cultural pride, shared rituals and celebrations transcend borders to make fútbol celebrations warmer, prouder, bolder, and undeniably more fun. This campaign will connect chosen familia across borders – from Medellín to Mexico City, Miami and beyond – and place Buchanan’s at the heart of the shared moments and rituals that bring chosen familias together around fútbol.