Sports fans are some of the most engaged users in the world. As long as the offer matches their tastes, they can go a long way toward supporting their favorite teams, players, or sportsmen.
And yet, there is a way to take their already high engagement to the next level. That’s right, we’re talking about major sports events and event marketing.
But which tournaments should you look out for? Well, let’s highlight some of the best events that can boost your profit in no time.
This guide breaks down the standout sporting events, complete with links, dates, and locations, so you can spot the moments worth building content around and plan your campaigns early.
Major football / soccer events
Football is the world’s most popular sport with 3.5 billion viewers. The audience is huge, so it’s no surprise that affiliate marketers can capitalize on this lucrative opportunity. During the World Cup year, casual viewers, die-hard fans, and everyone in between tune in to support their teams and feel some adrenaline rush.
The best thing about football is its predictability of upcoming events. There are tons of them (beyond the main one—World Cup), so you can prepare your campaigns accordingly when the users’ interest is at its peak. Generally, the opening games, the start of the play-off, and the finals are the best conversion drivers.
Prepare content, fine-tune your landing pages, and line up offers before the rush begins. And here are some of the most anticipated events to watch out for:
- Date: May 30
- Location: Hungary
- Date: June 11 – July 19
- Location: Canada, Mexico, United States
UEFA Champions League (2026/27 Season Start)
- Date: September
- Location: Spain
English Premier League (2026/27 Season Start)
- Date: August
- Location: United Kingdom
- Date: December 18
- Location: United States, Canada
UEFA European Under-19 Championship
- Date: June 28 – July 11
- Location: United Kingdom
Please note that the dates are based on current schedules and may be subject to minor changes. Also, some dates are rough approximations due to the TBA status of some games.
Other major sporting events
Football grabs most of the headlines, but if that’s all you pay attention to, you’ll leave a bunch of potential profit on the table. The rest of the 2026 calendar is full of events that speak to completely different audiences, each with its own spending habits.
Take the big-city marathons. Berlin, Chicago, New York—these pull in a fitness-minded crowd that’s actively looking for gear, nutrition advice, and travel packages. The Tour de France does something very similar, just on two wheels instead of running shoes. And as the year wraps up, the Formula 1 finale in Abu Dhabi attracts a more luxury-focused audience. Different crowd, entirely different offer opportunities.
All of these events follow a predictable schedule. You know exactly when the interest will peak, which gives you a clear runway to build content, rank for those seasonal keywords, and place your affiliate links where they’ll convert best.
- Date: June 3 – June 19
- Location: United States
- Date: June 29 – July 12
- Location: United Kingdom
British Open (The Open Championship)
- Date: July 12 – July 19
- Location: United Kingdom
- Date: July 4 – July 26
- Location: Spain, France
- Date: July 23 – August 2
- Location: Scotland
- Date: August 31 – September 13
- Location: United States
- Date: October 23 – October 31
- Location: United States
Berlin Marathon (World Marathon Major)
- Date: September 27
- Location: Germany
Chicago Marathon (World Marathon Major)
- Date: October 11
- Location: United States
New York City Marathon (World Marathon Major)
- Date: November 1
- Location: United States
- Date: December 4 – 6
- Location: United Arab Emirates
Dates are based on current schedules and may be subject to minor changes.
Experts take on sports-related campaigns in 2026
Judging by the performance of our media buying team, sports-related campaigns work especially well in the following GEOs:
Brazil 🇧🇷
Italy 🇮🇹
the UK 🇬🇧
Bulgaria 🇧🇬
Peru 🇵🇪
South Africa 🇿🇦
Nigeria 🇳🇬
Chile 🇨🇱
Argentina 🇦🇷
Ghana 🇬🇭
the Ivory Coast 🇨🇮
Kenya 🇰🇪
When it comes to ad formats, OnClick and Push notifications receive the largest budgets. Direct Click is also a solid pick, but it requires more elaborate testing.
As for the targeting, Android and iOS tend to deliver more conversions than desktop. Nonetheless, desktop traffic on Windows is a possibility when the offer allows it.
Make sure to test evening hours first, as they tend to deliver the best results. Bring in at least $100 for testing and set up the bids for different ad formats (at least) as mentioned below:
- Push notifications with SmartCPC of $0.1
- OnClick with SmartCPM of $3
- Direct Click with SmartCPC of $0.01
And if you want to have more plug-and-play experience, opt for one of our presets, optimized for sports-related campaigns: 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 25, 61, 62, 63, 64, 71, 91, 99, 108, 131, 133, 140, 141, 184, 218, 219, 231.
Closing words
May to December 2026 is packed with opportunities. A lot of these events are essentially traffic spikes you can time your campaigns around if you plan ahead.
This is where RollerAds comes into play. You can use our Push Notifications to highlight a last-minute streaming deal. Or you can rely on Pop ads that fire when someone’s shopping for some match-day tickets. Alternatively, there are Direct Click ads, tied to various offers. With the help of our ad formats, targeting, and high fill rates, you can turn sports traffic into pretty tangible revenue.
Register on our platform, pick some dates you like, and tailor your campaigns to them using the vast range of tools available. From flexible traffic settings to CPA Goal and heavy automation tools, RollerAds is your go-to platform for personalization and customization.
