The 2026 FIFA World Cup has already rewritten the financial playbook, delivering an estimated $15 billion in revenue that tops the governing body’s earlier $11 billion forecast. FIFA says the surge will fuel a new wave of commercial initiatives, from expanded broadcasting rights to heightened merchandise opportunities.
At the centre of this momentum is Boxbollen, a Swedish fitness toy that turned a simple punch‑ball into a viral sensation. In just two years the company has posted over $100 million in cumulative revenue, and its founders see soccer as the next logical frontier.
Jacob and Victor Eriksson, the brothers who launched Boxbollen, have introduced Footbollen, a ball attached to a string and a hand‑held grip that lets users kick rather than punch. The product is designed to capture the imagination of a sport‑obsessed audience while leveraging the same viral mechanics that made the original device a hit.
The soft launch of Footbollen in the fourth quarter of 2025 was bolstered by a short clip featuring English midfielder Declan Rice; the video quickly gathered 350,000 views before a post on Rice’s Instagram exploded to more than 11 million views, underscoring the brand’s viral pull.
Boxbollen’s financial story reads like a fast‑growing startup: the company recorded $59.2 million in revenue and $5 million in profit for 2024, and it secured shelf space in more than 3,000 U.S. stores, including Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Celebrity endorsements have amplified the buzz, with personalities ranging from MrBeast and Jay Shetty to Brooke Shields, Matt Rife, Mario Lopez and Piers Morgan all spotted using the original Boxbollen device, further cementing its cultural cachet.
The accompanying mobile app has attracted roughly 600,000 new users in just over a year, pushing the total user base to 2.2 million. The company now aims to reach $100 million in calendar‑year revenue by 2027, a target that hinges on global expansion and continued celebrity partnerships.
A new play in the sports‑tech arena
Despite headwinds such as rising shipping costs and fluctuating currency values — particularly the Swedish krona against the dollar — the Eriksson brothers remain confident. They point to the World Cup’s unprecedented visibility, the deepening retail network across the United States, Canada, Australia, Europe and India, and a pipeline of high‑profile endorsements as the pillars that will carry Footbollen to the $100 million milestone.