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Football for Friendship eWorld Championship to be held for the second time in F4F World multiuser simulator
The Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F) will be taking place for the second time at the end of May. After sports fans from over 100 countries took part last year, 211 countries and regions will be represented this time round.
The important events in Gazprom’s International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship (F4F) will be taking place in a digital format this year too because of the pandemic. Following established tradition, a few highlights are being organised to take place in Istanbul, the host city for the final of the UEFA Champions League, from 28th to 30th May.
The 2021 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F) will take place on the multiplayer simulator Football for Friendship World (F4F World), which was specially developed for F4F. International team matches can be organised on this platform in real time. The individual users, each of whom is a player on the team, come from different countries. The team consists of a goalkeeper, a defender, two midfield players and two attackers. There is also a trainer and some substitutes. A game runs for 2 halves of 3.5 minutes.
Since 19th April, football academies all over the world have been invited to nominate girls and boys aged 12 to 14 as players. The draw that will put the kids into International Teams of Friendship will be in the middle of May. The Football for Friendship eWorld Championship (eF4F) will take place from 27th to 29th May.
The winners of the 2020 Football for Friendship eWorld Championship were the team “Granular salamander”, whose players came from Bosnia Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Latvia, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Turkey. In the course of the final events in the 8th season of “Football for Friendship”, a new GUINESS WORLD RECORDSTM title was set for the most users in a football video hangout. This year too F4F is aiming once more to set what would be a third GUINESS WORLD RECORDSTM title.
Since December 2020, F4F World has been available to anyone interested, outside of the eF4F tournament as well, free of charge in 27 different languages. An exciting match, in which the Nine Values of Football for Friendship: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour, are emphasised, awaits F4F World players. The particular features of F4F World include an original, hand-drawn design, a unique profile modification function, the option of playing in various divisions and leagues, of founding one’s own club or of inviting randomly selected players from around the world to take part in the match. In addition, participants can design their own player as they wish. For example, the players’ hairstyles show the colours of their respective national flags. The 2021 version will also offer some new features like training sessions. The F4F World game is available on MS Windows, Apple MacOS and iOS and was developed by the company DataArt.
Andrey Trusov, DataArt: “It was very interesting and motivating to have the opportunity to contribute to the development of F4F. For me, it was a new experience that there is such a competition for children – one that also promotes values like friendship, fairness, and peace. My colleagues and I engaged very intensively with the whole F4F concept in order to be able to give it form and expression in virtual reality.”
About the programme:
The International Children’s Social Programme Football for Friendship has been run by Gazprom since 2013. Over the previous eight seasons, the programme has brought together over 15,000 participants from 211 countries and regions and over 6,000,000 supporters.
Young Players and Young Journalists are the participants in the programme – boys and girls aged 12 including children with disabilities. Young Players represent different countries and cultures united in the mixed teams of the Football for Friendship World Championship. They show that nationality, gender, and physical abilities aren’t a barrier to becoming a team. Young Journalists cover the events of the programme in the International Children’s Press Center. All participants become Young Ambassadors of the programme and continue to share their Football for Friendship experience and promote universal human values: friendship, equality, fairness, health, peace, devotion, victory, traditions, and honour.
In 2020, Football for Friendship was held online. A special digital platform connected over 10,000 players of all ages. It has become the home for international children’s competitions and a playground where anyone can train, join in the international mixed teams and play their favourite game in the Football for Friendship format without leaving the comfort of their home.
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Former Pragmatic Play chief commercial officer brings 20 years of iGaming experience to the role.
BetConstruct AI has appointed Lena Yasir as its new chief executive officer, the company said.
Yasir has 20 years of iGaming experience, with a background in B2B commercial strategy, international expansion, and building teams across regulated and emerging markets.
Before joining BetConstruct AI, Yasir held senior leadership roles at Play’n GO, Evolution, and OnGame Network. Most recently, she served as chief commercial officer at Pragmatic Play, where the company said she played a central role in its global B2B growth.
In a statement, Yasir said: “BetConstruct AI is a highly respected and successful company in the global iGaming industry, and I am proud to be joining the business at such an exciting time.”
BetConstruct AI said Yasir will focus on accelerating global revenue, driving innovation, and strengthening partnerships across the iGaming ecosystem.
The post BetConstruct AI names Lena Yasir CEO appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Firm points to more LATAM teams, heavier digital viewing and second-screen habits as key drivers for new campaign strategies.
Sports marketing in Latin America will face a different playbook during the FIFA World Cup 2026, according to a new analysis from Latam Intersect. The firm says the expanded tournament format, combined with prime-time scheduling for the region and more digital consumption, will change how brands plan media, content and real-time engagement.
The 2026 edition will feature 48 national teams, 104 matches and three host countries. FIFA projects more than 6 billion people will follow the tournament in some way, Latam Intersect said. For Latin America, the firm highlights the added weight of having 10 regional teams qualified, alongside the region’s historical performance in the competition.
Latam Intersect argues that the LATAM fan base is now younger and more active online, with a predominant age range of 22 to 33 and strong Gen Z and millennial presence. The company cites data indicating 41% of fans already watch matches via digital platforms and 51% use social media while watching on TV, turning each match into a continuous “second-screen” engagement window.
“In 2026, the fan is already in the middle of a conversation that never stops. Brands that show up with a prepared post after the match are already too late,”, said Livia Gammardella, Head of Marketing and Digital de Latam Intersect.
The firm also breaks the audience into three archetypes—casual fan, devoted fan and “fanático”—and says brands often underperform by treating the World Cup audience as one segment. It adds that women fans and fans arriving through pop culture, memes and music are growing audiences that global campaigns frequently miss.
A major difference versus the 2018 and 2022 tournaments is match timing for the region, with most games expected to land in prime time for Latin America, the company said. “A World Cup in prime time was exactly what retail needed. People will not watch the matches alone: they will gather with family, order food, buy products. The brand that uses cultural intelligence to understand the localized rituals of its fan will build far more connection than it could expect”, said Claudia Daré, socia y cofundadora de Latam Intersect.
The company said it has published a related eBook on platform behaviors across Instagram, TikTok and X, alongside market-specific audience data and planning framework
The post Latam Intersect flags prime-time World Cup 2026 as a reset for LATAM sports marketing appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
Claudia Daré partner and co-founder of Latam Intersect.
Sports marketing will change in Latin America during the 2026 World Cup
The biggest tournament in history arrives with an unprecedented strategic window for brands: prime-time matches, more Latin American national teams, and an audience that is radically more digital and diverse.
The 2026 World Cup is not just the most ambitious edition in the tournament’s history. For Latin America, it represents a convergence of factors never seen in any previous edition: ten national teams from the region qualified, matches will air in prime time, and an audience that experiences football in ways that would have been unimaginable a decade ago.
With 48 national teams, 104 matches, and three host countries, FIFA projects that more than 6 billion people will follow the tournament in some way. For Latin America, whose national teams have won the World Cup 10 times, the competition arrives with a particularly strong emotional weight.
An audience that no longer watches football in silence
The profile of the Latin American fan has changed profoundly. The dominant age bracket today is between 22 and 33 years old, with a strong presence of Gen Z and millennials. This segment does not just consume the sport; it comments on it in real time, amplifies opinions on social media, and lives every match with a phone in hand.
The data is striking: 41% of fans already watch matches through digital platforms, and 51% use social media simultaneously while watching on television. This turns every match into a 90-minute window of continuous engagement, an opportunity that traditional communication strategies, designed for a passive consumer, are simply not built to capture.
“In 2026, the fan is already in the middle of a conversation that never stops. Brands that show up with a prepared post after the match are already too late,” says Livia Gammardella, Head of Marketing and Digital at Latam Intersect.
Three profiles, three different conversations
Not all fans are the same, and treating them as if they were is one of the most common mistakes in communication strategies for major sporting events. Audience analysis identifies three clearly different archetypes: the casual fan, who gets caught up in the spirit during important matches but disconnects if their team is eliminated; the devoted fan, loyal to their team and routines, who sees any brand opportunism as disrespect; and the fanatic, for whom football is identity and belonging, and who grants loyalty only to those who demonstrate a genuine connection to the sport.
To these three segments are added fast-growing audiences that global campaigns often ignore: women fans, whose digital engagement continues to grow steadily, and supporters who come to football through pop culture, memes, and music.
Prime time as a strategic window
One of the most significant differences from the last two World Cups is the broadcast schedule. In 2018 and 2022, the time zones of Russia and Qatar pushed matches into Latin American mornings or afternoons. In 2026, most matches will fall in prime time across the region, opening an opportunity that practically did not exist in recent editions.
“A World Cup in prime time was exactly what retail needed. People will not watch the matches alone: they will gather with family, order food, buy products. The brand that uses cultural intelligence to understand the localized rituals of its fan will build far more connection than it could expect,” says Claudia Daré, partner and co-founder of Latam Intersect.
The Latin American fan of 2026 is younger, more digital, and more diverse than in any previous edition. Digital platforms have shifted from being support channels to becoming the main stage. And while the conversation is global in scale, it is always local in content.
The tournament will unfold simultaneously on two screens. Instagram works as a visual archive and positioning channel. TikTok is where trends are born, rewarding native creativity over expensive production. X is the public square for minute-by-minute conversation, with relevance windows that close in a matter of seconds. And physical spaces, bars, fan fests, family gatherings, regain prominence that the schedules of the last two editions had reduced considerably.
Treating them as a single distribution channel is, according to specialists, the fastest way for a brand to go unnoticed.
The 2026 World Cup arrives with an architecture unlike any previous edition: more countries, more matches, more screens, and an audience that does not wait for kickoff to start the conversation. In Latin America, where football functions as a shared language across generations, social classes, and borders, the tournament promises to be a moment of cultural cohesion on a historic scale.
The post Sports marketing will change in Latin America during the 2026 World Cup appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.
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