World Football Summit, the meeting point for the global football industry, and Substack, the subscription network where athletes and creators own their audience and their work, today announced a strategic partnership that establishes Substack as an Industry Partner of WFS Madrid 2026.
The agreement (the first of its kind between Substack and a major sports industry event) positions the platform as a key player in the global sports ecosystem at a moment when athletes, media, competitions, clubs, and brands are rethinking how they connect with fans. Substack is fast becoming the platform for sport: the home of sports culture and authentic fandom, where fans share their takes, connect with communities, discover their next favourite creators, follow the action live, and engage with the sharpest analysis in the game.
The Locker Room by Substack
As part of the partnership, Substack will host The Locker Room by Substack, an exclusive closed-door session created especially for WFS Madrid and led by Marcos García, Head of Partnerships, Substack ES. The session will explore how athletes, journalists, clubs, and brands are using the platform to build direct, lasting relationships with their audiences and moving beyond rented reach on social media towards owned, monetisable communities.
The session is designed for senior decision-makers in marketing and digital at sports properties, talent representatives, agencies, and journalists exploring a new business model for sport: one that completes the fan engagement journey with real, quality relationships between creators and fans.
The home of sport’s biggest voices
Substack is already becoming the home of sport, with world-class athletes such as Thibaut Courtois, Kilian Jornet, Maria Sharapova, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar using the platform as a tool for direct, meaningful connection with their audiences and fan communities — on their own terms and with full ownership of the relationship with them.
WFS arrives on Substack
The partnership also includes the launch of the official World Football Summit publication on Substack, where the football industry community will be able to follow the latest news from the Summit and access exclusive content and insights ahead of, during, and beyond the event.
“For decades, sport’s narrative ran in one direction: the athlete was the subject, while others were the ones telling the story. Today, athletes, creators and brands have their own channel, their own voice and, increasingly, their own business model built on a direct connection with their audiences. Substack has become a key part of that shift, offering a value proposition that opens up new opportunities for the industry. Something we’ll be exploring at WFS, one of the sector’s leading events,” said Marcos García, Head of Partnerships for Substack Spain.
“At WFS, we always want the people and brands genuinely pushing their industries forward to be part of what we do. Substack has built something rare: a real, engaged community around authentic voices, and that’s exactly the kind of innovation we want at the heart of Madrid this year,” said Jan Alessie, Co-Founder and Managing Director of World Football Summit.