Celebrity Influence in Football Before the 2026 World Cup

From the stands to the spotlight

The modern version of football fame is not just about being photographed at a match.

• Kim Kardashian has been repeatedly seen around football with her son Saint, a keen supporter.
• Recent images reportedly showed Saint in a Paris Saint-Germain shirt.
• The attention around that kind of appearance now travels almost as fast as team news.

That matters because major tournaments are culture events as much as sporting ones. A World Cup draws musicians, actors and influencers into the same orbit as players, coaches and club executives.

Ownership has changed the conversation

The bigger shift is not celebrity fandom. It is celebrity investment.

• Will Ferrell has been part of the Los Angeles FC project since 2016.
• Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney took control at Wrexham in 2021.
• Their involvement turned a local football story into a global one.

Wrexham is the clearest example of celebrity power being turned into momentum. Visibility became commercial pull, and commercial pull helped amplify the club’s rebuild. In the United States, LAFC also showed how famous investors can sit comfortably inside an ambitious football model rather than distract from it.

Not every link becomes a takeover

There is still a difference between attachment and ownership.

• Tom Hanks is an openly devoted Aston Villa supporter.
• That does not automatically mean a move into the boardroom.

That distinction is important. Celebrity can elevate a club’s profile, but sustained value still comes from recruitment, coaching and structure.

When the World Cup begins and runs through 19 July, expect familiar faces in the crowd and around club storylines. The next question is whether celebrity involvement remains a sideshow - or keeps becoming part of football’s main stage.