Play the World.

Play the World is a global brand initiative for Adidas timed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The proposal embeds four permanent soccer pitch installations within the urban fabric of four cities. Each space is designed to operate for the duration of the tournament and to remain in place as community infrastructure once the tournament concludes.

The strategic premise positions Adidas as an infrastructural brand rather than a sponsorship brand. Competing brands concentrate brand equity in individual athlete endorsements and product performance. Permanent architecture compounds equity across the operational lifespan of the building.

From the monastery to the campaign.

The thesis originates from a documented experience within a monastery courtyard in Venice. The game operated as universal social infrastructure: a flat surface, a ball, two or more people. The campaign scales that observation to a global brand strategy. The World Cup provides the launch window. The architecture provides the lifespan.

New York. The Grid.

An elevated pitch suspended above the Manhattan street grid. The field operates as a piece of the skyline rather than a piece of the street. Industrial steel and glass. 200 spectators.

Cairo. The Apex.

Three interlocking glass and steel triangular volumes form the Adidas three-stripe mark in plan. From ground level the form reads as a crystalline pyramid in dialogue with the Giza Plateau. Spectators descend into the pitch below grade. Structural glass, steel, limestone. 350 spectators.

Paris. The Light.

Mirrored and luminous panels along the Seine. The building operates simultaneously as soccer facility and light sculpture. Natural light filters through layered glass and casts moving color across the pitch over the course of the day. Mirrored panels, glass, steel. 250 spectators.

Munich. The Home.

Adidas was founded thirty minutes from Munich. Three massive interlocking stripe volumes rise from the ground. Spectators enter through the negative space between them. Exposed steel patinas. Engineered timber weathers. The pitch is designed to host generations. 300 spectators.