Travis Scott has become the football ambassador in the United States The top player of one of the three host countries of the 2026 World Cup
The TOMA initiative (street soccer by Nike) continued in Miami, one of the U.S. cities where the 2026 World Cup will inevitably make a stop (at Hard Rock Stadium). It would be nice to say that the special guest was Travis Scott, but by now Travis Scott can no longer be considered such for Nike: neither as a "guest," because his residencies have become a regular occurrence, nor as special, for the same reason. His presence has become recurring, as Nike has identified him as the perfect driver to ignite enthusiasm across the United States ahead of the start of the most anticipated tournament ever. Ultimately, this is exactly the purpose of TOMA: to promote street soccer in urban contexts in anticipation of the World Cup. Who better than Travis Scott to win over the so-called Gen Z?
Travis Scott’s role in the world of sports
We recently discussed in this article the impact that Travis Scott is having on the sports industry, and we also wondered how central his figure could potentially be in the communication around the 2026 World Cup. From the WWE Raw theme song, to Edgar Davids inviting him to his Secreto Maximus tournament during ComplexCon, to the logo on the Barça jersey, Travis continues to redefine the relationship between football and music, even if it would be hard to say that Nike’s goal in involving him in any initiative is to merge two such distant spheres (which, by the way, are no longer so distant). Rather, it seems evident that the aim is to leverage a catalyzing figure like Travis, who continues to prove extremely magnetic.
At the latest Nike TOMA event in Miami, Travis practically kicked off the rollout of the unveiling of Nike’s special collaborations, wearing an indoor version of the Nike Phantom: a model featuring a double Swoosh, including Travis’s signature reversed Swoosh, in a shade of green that, moreover, strongly recalls the bright colorways of the old Nike Mercurial IV Vapor.
Travis Scott as a "filler" for an entire country
For now, we have understood how much the United States is using street soccer as a fundamental asset to bring new generations closer to a sport that is still searching for its identity in this country. The World Cup will represent a true watershed moment for the U.S. for several reasons. It will be a sporting event that will answer many questions, including: will the country be able to identify a super talent to believe in? Will the new American generations be able to get passionate about the sport (also) thanks to the presence of an idol to look up to? Numbers and on paper, the most prominent talent to place all hopes on today seems to be the only “Captain America”: Christian Pulisic, the American footballer who has most established himself in the top European leagues.
It can be said, with a bit of imagination, that Travis Scott represents a kind of temporary (or supporting) showman, considering that the chances of his appearances continuing until this summer’s World Cup are very high, called upon to fill the gap left by the absence of a sports figure capable of serving as a role model, an aspirational idol for the new generations discovering a still very young sport in America.
