Meta announced a range of new features to help users celebrate the FIFA World Cup 2026, including live score alerts and chats, themed stickers and effects, custom emojis and an enhanced search experience on Instagram.
First up, on Threads, Meta will highlight real-time chatter around the World Cup with live chat, live score alerts, a dedicated World Cup community and live commentary sessions hosted by soccer legends.
Threads will also showcase key highlights, along with key discussions and game reminders.
Threads is also getting custom stickers and emojis, and users will be able to add team flair to their profiles.
On Instagram, Meta is rolling out an enhanced search experience, which will put more focus on World Cup content within a special search hub.
As explained by Meta: “[W]hen you search for the tournament or tap the tournament button on football videos globally, you’ll land on a dedicated destination that surfaces curated, real-time content from across Instagram. You’ll see top Reels, Stories, and featured accounts from official rights-holding broadcasters and national teams, alongside the best fan content.”
Instagram users will also have access to artificial intelligence-powered voice effects within DMs.
On Facebook, Meta is adding a new Football Mode, which will be accessible by double-tapping the Facebook logo at the top of the feed.
Facebook users will also be able to generate images of themselves in their favorite team’s jersey, using Meta’s latest AI tools. The app is also adding tournament-themed stickers and backgrounds.
Finally, on Messenger and WhatsApp, Meta is giving users various ways to stay on top of the latest World Cup updates, with live connection elements in-stream.
Meta will have a Live Updates feature on Messenger, which will enable users to activate live match news within their chat.
“When Live Updates is activated, your thread instantly goes from delayed reactions to real-time celebrations — no refreshing, no spoilers, just you and your friends reacting together as goals, red cards, and key match moments appear in your chat while the action unfolds on the pitch,” Meta said.
Users will be able to switch on Live Updates by tapping the plus sign in the bottom left navigation bar of a group chat.
Messenger is also getting World Cup chat themes and new animated stickers.
WhatsApp announced its World Cup updates last week. Those include themed stickers, calling effects and a dedicated channel directory for World Cup-related chats.
The World Cup will be a major social media focus over the next few weeks, and given the popularity of soccer, it makes sense for Meta to provide custom tools to help fans engage and celebrate in its apps.
And for marketers, that could also lead to themed campaign opportunities, in line with broader interest and engagement.
