A match can be watched anywhere. On a phone, at the office, at home, on the go. But AB InBev is choosing an older, louder and more social place for this year’s FIFA World Cup 2026, the local bar.
The company has extended its global platform Cheers to Bars into a program connected to the World Cup, with the idea that bars during the tournament should not only be places where drinks are sold, but spaces where matches are watched together. The program was developed with the agency GUT New York, and is accompanied by a new main film that celebrates the energy, nerves, joy and familiar crowd that emerges when an entire bar is waiting for the same moment.
The film was produced by Sugarcane Films, while Locomotive Content was responsible for content selection, rights and licensing. It features scenes from bars around the world, not as an idealized ad about a perfect night out, but as a collection of moments familiar to anyone who has ever watched an important match among people.
For AB InBev, this is not only sponsorship visibility around the biggest edition of the World Cup so far. Michelob ULTRA and Budweiser are official sponsors of the tournament, but the global activation comes down to a much more concrete level, into bars, pubs and venues where football often finds its most loyal audience.
The company is announcing 200,000 organized match viewings in more than 40 countries, turning bars into main gathering places for fans during the tournament. Instead of keeping the story only on stadiums and big screens, Cheers to Bars counts on what happens around them, on tables being joined together, strangers reacting to a goal together, and venues that, because of a match, become the temporary center of the neighborhood.
Alongside the global film, AB InBev is introducing a series of local programs. In the United States, Stella Artois is launching the Work From Bar initiative, through which fans over the age of 21 will be reimbursed, up to a total of 100,000 dollars, if they watch weekday matches from a local bar while having Stella Artois or Stella Artois 0.0.
In Brazil, Ambev is investing more than 100 million Brazilian reais during 2026 in mentoring and financial support programs for entrepreneurs who run up to 250,000 points of sale across the country. In this way, the platform does not rely only on the fan atmosphere, but also on the role of hospitality venues in the local economy.
AB InBev also states that events connected to the tournament will include non-alcoholic and low-alcohol options, as well as training on responsible beverage service for staff. For the company, this is a way for Cheers to Bars to remain connected to socializing and moderation, and not only to consumption during a major sporting event.
