When the 2026 World Cup begins, fans should keep a close eye on the jerseys of players like Désiré Doué, Lamine Yamal, and Ricardo Pepi. If selected for France, Spain, and the United States respectively, all three young stars may take the field for their first tournament match wearing a newly introduced “debut patch” on their kits. This addition is expected to excite collectors, who will be eager to get their hands on a rare piece of memorabilia.
Chase Adams of the Columbus Crew wore a debut patch on his shirt this month (Jason Mowry/Getty Images)
The patch will be worn by players making their first-ever appearance at the World Cup. After the match, each patch will be authenticated, signed, and eventually included in a pack of trading cards. Inspired by a trend in Major League Baseball (MLB), the “debut patches” will appear during the World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico as part of FIFA’s upcoming licensing agreement with Fanatics. The company, which will produce cards, stickers, and trading cards, previously launched a similar patch program with Major League Soccer in 2024.
Joyeux Bungi points to his patch after his MLS debut for New York Red Bulls in April (Elsa/Getty Images)
The long-term deal with Fanatics — which replaces FIFA’s partnership with Panini — does not officially begin until 2031. That means patches from this year’s World Cup will not appear on trading cards until then at the earliest. However, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin confirmed this month that the patches will still be worn during the 2026 tournament. “For the previous three years (before Fanatics could use the license), the NFL put debut patches on rookies when they played their first game and then they saved those relics until the rights kicked in,” Rubin said. “We do that across every sport. There’s a multi-year cycle when you launch together. We did the NFL, the NBA and MLB, and they were all basically five years in advance. So I think this is the right time to announce it and start to build the initiatives.”
Multiple sources told The Athletic last month that Fanatics has secured future exclusive licensing rights to produce trading cards and sticker books for the men’s and women’s national teams of England, Brazil, Germany, and Italy. Topps, owned by Fanatics, has gained similar future rights for the United States national teams, according to a source familiar with the deal who was not authorized to speak publicly. This week, the company announced it had also secured the rights for Argentina.
This licensing agreement marks another step in the growing relationship between Fanatics and FIFA. This year’s Fanatics Fest — the company’s Comic Con for sports fans and collectors — has shifted from its usual June timeframe in New York City to coincide with the World Cup final. The event will take place from July 16 to July 19, while the tournament’s championship match is scheduled for July 19 at MetLife Stadium. Pre-match press conferences for the final will be held at the Fest on July 17. In December, FIFA selected Fanatics as the exclusive operator for all 2026 World Cup stadium and fan festival retail locations.
“This (collectibles) deal reflects FIFA’s strategy to learn from North America, where the commercialization of sport is really reaching different levels,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said. “I’ve seen that for myself at Formula 1, at NFL, at UFC, at NBA — you name them — and now we can move that into the football arena with Fanatics, who are the leaders in this particular space. So this deal enhances fan engagement and storytelling by creating deeper emotional connections between fans and players via collectibles, or via, for example, game-used memorabilia and other events.”
