Ahead of the football World Cup of 2014 in Brazil, FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, decided it wanted a leading Champagne house to become one of its partners for the event. So they approached a cousin of the Taittinger family, who happened to be working in the world of sports marketing, to see if Taittinger might be interested. It was and Champagne Taittinger has remained a partner of FIFA for every World Cup since, with 350,000 limited edition special label bottles about to be released for the 2026 FIFA World Cup™.
The tournament, which starts in early June and runs until the middle of July, will be the biggest event in footballing history, with 48 nations taking part across three host countries – Mexico, the United States and Canada. There will also be three host countries for the 2030 World Cup – Morocco, Portugal and Spain – where Taittinger has already announced it will also be a partner with FIFA for that event, as well as the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
"So we have to go back to the basics, and to understand we are human, we need emotion," Vitalie Taittinger, president and CEO of Champagne Taittinger, Paris, April 2026.
Significant allocation
In Paris last week, Taittinger formally launched the limited edition release, with both Vitalie Taittinger, the company’s president and CEO, and her brother Clovis Taittinger, the general manager, being present. Vitalie revealed that Hatch Mansfield, Taittinger’s UK importer, would receive a significant allocation of the product which is available from late April.
“Taittinger is a serious Champagne house,” Vitalie announced in the hallowed gardens of the Saint James hotel in central Paris. “All year we are dreamers. It started for us with my father, who thought one day he could re-buy our Champagne company, and finally he managed to do it. We have to build teams, excellency, vineyards - we have to be the major actor in everything.”
Vitalie went on to explain the significance of partnering with FIFA, both internally and externally.
“When Clovis came one day with this partnership with FIFA, it was the beginning of a new page at Taittinger. We were the first Champagne house partner at FIFA. For Taittinger, it has been a step, a jump in terms of size, image and perception. They used to see us as quite traditional, but this partnership told something different to everyone. It was important to tell everyone we were competitors, that we were audacious, and to make people dream. The teams in the export countries - they build this brand with much more energy and to take it to new places.”
The Taittinger family’s love of football goes back generations.
“My grandfather Jean Taittinger was mayor of Reims for almost 20 years, where there was a fantastic football team,” Vitalie recalled. “He and my father attended their home matches. Our passion for football started there with Clovis, my sister Clemence and I going to a lot of matches. We learnt that football is, most of all, the team. You have an energy to this sport which is fantastic; you have a possibility of dreams which is fantastic, and you have a joy which is present at every match.”
Vitalie and Clovis Taittinger, Paris launch
Not about politics
“For us, it is not a question of politics. This wine is what it is because of the passion of countries for Champagne. It is important for us to show that Champagne is for all the countries and to show the link is about love, friendship and to create joy.”
Both Vitalie and Clovis will be going to North America for some of the World Cup matches. Clovis will be there for a month and will attend as many as ten games. The motivation, however, runs far deeper than the sport.
“This is much more than a football partnership,” Vitalie continued, “The USA is very important for Champagne as they helped us a lot to refurbish Reims after the Second World War. Thanks to them, we have a roof on the cathedral, a wonderful hospital for children and many many places in Reims that are proving the link. For all those reasons, we love America, and we will always fight with America to help them and to share adventures with them.”
The official FIFA poster
Clovis likewise sought to explain the company’s rationale behind its partner status with FIFA.
“A partnership like this obliges you to go beyond your natural playground and out of the box,” he mused. “It’s something you have to force yourself to do. The challenge is part of life – sometimes you can sit quietly in your seat, but at Taittinger we like to participate in the banquet of life. Life is a football game, and as an official partner, we are a player.”
“We are FIFA' s only French company, their only wine producer. I am a big football fan. When I was young, my wish was to see France win a World Cup before I die. We’ve done that twice, and are becoming more a winning nation. When I was young, it was impossible. The magic of sport is the unpredictability, and that’s the magic of life too.”
The last word should go to Vitalie, who radiates undiluted positivity.
“This World Cup will be a big family platform of joy," she concluded. “We need that more than everything else today because the world is too complex. So we have to go back to the basics, and to understand we are human, we need emotion, we need to be close to each other and we need to continue to have those things with other countries.”
“I am committed to culture as I am convinced that through it we find ourselves, and I think this is the only way to be able to bring people together without thinking about politics. We are here to have a good life, to enjoy. It’s important that being a Champagne company, we are able to give this input.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup™ special label of Taittinger will be available in Asda, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Tesco, Waitrose, independent drinks retailers and selected on-trade.
Champagne Taittinger is sold and distributed in the UK through Hatch Mansfield which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here.
