YouTube is kicking out a new ecommerce component to the beautiful game’s quadrennial World Cup tournament.
On Nov. 21, YouTube Shopping and FIFA will launch the Game Face Shoppable Shorts Challenge for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Fans can display their country pride by posting a YouTube Shorts video with the hashtag #FIFAWorldCupChallenge. From the Shorts videos with the hashtag, viewers will be able to directly purchase the official FIFA World Cup T-shirt for their country from the soccer federation’s recently launched official online store (at store.fifa).
FIFA will repost select #FIFAWorldCupChallenge videos — with each user’s permission — to its official YouTube channel and social accounts throughout the duration of the campaign.
YouTube has eyed Shorts as a prime vehicle to push shopping — and it’s using the world stage of football’s biggest event to try to turn more viewers into buyers. The Google-owned platform launched Shorts two years ago as a response to TikTok, the immensely popular short-form app that has been eating into overall time spent with other social and video services. Earlier this year, Google said YouTube Shorts are beingwatched by more than 1.5 billion logged-in users every month.
The World Cup shopping promo is the video giant’s third “Shopping on Shorts Challenge,” following Glossier’s June launch of its new eyeliner via Shorts timed to YouTube’s second annual Beauty Festival and creator Blogilates’ use of YouTube Shorts to sell her Popflex line of fitness apparel and products. In addition, YouTube says it has begun to introduce shopping on YouTube Shorts with eligible creators in the U.S., in a test in which select creators can tag products from their own stores. Initially, viewers in the U.S., India, Brazil, Canada and Australia can see the shopping tags and interact with them.
Alongside the shopping-enabled #FIFAWorldCupChallenge, YouTube is flooding the pitch with content for the World Cup, which promises to drive a huge amount of streaming. According to YouTube, content from the 2018 World Cup accumulated more than 10 billion views on the platform.
once the FIFA World Cup 2022 officially kicks off on Nov. 20, fans can turn to YouTube to watch recap videos of all the games and best moments from official broadcast rights-holders — including Fox, ITV, BBC and BeIN Sports — spanning 130 markets around the world. The official FIFA YouTube channel (youtube/fifa) will also include highlights from each game throughout the entire tournament.
In the U.S., YouTube TV subscribers can watch all 64 of the World Cup 2022 matches live on Fox and Fox Sports’ FS1, with customers who subscribe to the 4K Plus add-on able to watch in UHD. The service’s base plan also carries Telemundo, which will present Spanish-language broadcasts of the World Cup.
In addition, the official FIFA YouTube channel will feature iconic matches from past World Cup tournaments in full, as well as fan-favorite games and other content, including the official soundtrack of this year’s tournament.
YouTube also is working with creators around the globe to produce World Cup-related content for YouTube Shorts. Creators Deestroying, Jesser, Cheeky Boyos, Noor Stars and Rima — who have a combined reach of more than 90 million subscribers — will be sharing their experiences at the first round of matches in person. As the tournament comes to a close, creators Carter Sharer, Lizzy Capri, Ahmad Aburob, AboFlah and Saba7o Korah will post exclusive content from the semis and final matches.
