As millions of international soccer fans pour into stadiums across North America for FIFA World Cup 2026, they’ll be greeted by outdoor stages, activations, and exhibits installed by Willwork Global Event Services, one of the tradeshow industry’s leading providers of skilled labor.
Few events generate the excitement and revenue stream as does the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. The tournament started June 11 in Mexico City and features 48 nations playing 104 matches in 16 host cities across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The World Cup final will be played July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
According to Expedia Group and PredictHQ, the World Cup is estimated to generate $8.1 billion in visitor spending across North America. Ticket requests have surpassed 5 million, and third-party sellers are getting as much as $30,000 for a seat at the Cup final.
Giant work, no easy setup
Willwork is doing “giant work” in every U.S. city hosting the World Cup, chief executive officer Bill Nixon says. One day he’s dodging a tornado in Kansas City, the next day he’s drenched by a hurricane in New Jersey. He’s got major presentations in Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, and Dallas.
“Different exhibit houses give us different projects,” Nixon notes during an interview at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, where he was drumming up business at the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) convention. “We’re really doing a lot of outdoor space and activations. Outdoors is way different than convention centers. There are no loading docks, you don’t know where you are, you don’t know what the weather’s going to be like.”
Global brands, outdoor builds
The World Cup exposes company brands to a global audience with billions of potential customers. Willwork’s biggest project is building a model house for Home Depot in Atlanta, bringing in contractors to do everything from tile floors to wood trim. For Bank of America, Willwork put together an aluminum extrusion structure wrapped in graphics. Coca-Cola showed off the World Cup trophy on a promotional tour with fan activations set up by Willwork.
Based in South Easton, Massachusetts, with offices in Las Vegas and Orlando, Florida, Willwork has developed a massive network of skilled labor during its 40 years of existence. The company works with large exhibit houses and partners with other tradeshow companies around the nation.
“A big part of the thought process is we have the labor and skills necessary to meet the needs of the market. We have an army to go where labor is needed,” Nixon says. He’s got about 250 people with multiple skill sets working on World Cup projects.
Weather, deadlines, and freight
Planning for a live event of World Cup magnitude requires more than a few brainstorming sessions. It takes expertise in event logistics, labor services, and meticulous management of details. Nixon is on the phone with several project managers at least three times a day.
The entire process of setting up an event, from initial planning to the shipment of freight to the installation and dismantling of the exhibit, requires coordination of a lot of moving parts to deliver a seamless guest experience.
“There’s a lot to it,” Nixon understates.
Willwork was up against project deadlines as the opening day for the World Cup approached. The weather wreaked havoc on one outdoor installation that was lacking ballast.
“We’re really not running over, maybe over our internal deadlines, but the games haven’t started yet,” Nixon mentions. “We’re under the gun on all of them, but we’re there.”
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