CLLCT: Fanatics Fest preps for 'unique opportunity' with 2026 World Cup final

Fanatics Fest will add an additional day, feature more event space and run alongside the World Cup final when it returns to New York’s Javits Center in 2026, Fanatics formally announced Friday.

A three-day event in 2024 and 2025, Fanatics Fest will run from July 16-19 in 2026, with Sunday overlapping with the FIFA World Cup final just miles away at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The third flagship event organized under the company’s Fanatics Events division, the shift is a notable change from 2025’s June show, but offers Fanatics a chance to collaborate with a prestigious sporting event that lands just once every four years.

“Honestly, we see this as a once-in-a-probably-lifetime opportunity,” Fanatics Events CEO Lance Fensterman told cllct. “World Cup in the New York-New Jersey area, it felt too good to not capitalize on. We’ll be back in June in the future — we love those dates, that’s a good spot. This was just a really unique opportunity.”