What's Hot at Zupotsu: Sports Marketing Opportunities for 2026

Three trends will reshape India's sports marketing in 2026: women's cricket hitting the mainstream, premium sports gaining ground, and chess continuing its onward march. Each offers distinct ways for brands to reach engaged audiences. 

Here's what we see as the defining sports marketing stories of 2026. 

1. Women's Cricket: The Undisputed Crown Jewel 

Women's cricket has arrived. What started off as a revolution in 2017, achieved its logical culmination with India's ODI World Cup win in November 2025. The Final pulled 185 million digital viewers, matching men's World Cup finals and beating daily IPL numbers.

The 39,555-capacity DY Patil Stadium sold out. When the President, Prime Minister, and tech CEOs all rushed to congratulate the team, the message was clear: this is mainstream now. 

The media coverage tells the story too. Smriti Mandhana's personal struggles got the same wall-to-wall attention as Bollywood celebrities and male cricketers. These aren't just athletes anymore, they've become household names. 

Women's cricket delivers authentic cultural alignment with proven commercial returns. This isn't a CSR play—it's a growing property with young, engaged audiences. With Zupotsu's partnership ecosystem, brands can align themselves with the rising trajectory of women’s cricket in India.  

The Marketers’ Play 

For those looking to align themselves with the women’s cricket at competitive prices, the Women’s Premier League is the best fit. Season 4 starts January 9, 2026, running through February 5 across Navi Mumbai and Vadodara. The tournament features five elite franchises led by two-time defending champions Mumbai Indians. 

Here’s why WPL 2026 should matter to you: 

• Post-World Cup timing: First major tournament after India's historic win, ensuring sustained attention on the new stars and increasing viewership 

• Growing sponsorship ecosystem: New partners signing on for Season 4,  demonstrating strong brand ROI and confidence in the property 

• Capitalizing on cultural momentum: Athletes achieving celebrity status translates to sustained fan engagement, social media amplification, and mainstream media coverage beyond sports pages 

• Six-month cricket calendar: WPL's January start creates continuous cricket coverage across genders through H1 2026, culminating with the ICC Women's T20 World Cup to be held in England 

2. Premium Sports: India's New Frontier 

Beyond cricket’s shadow, premium sports are slowly growing and coming into the mainstream. Pickleball, golf, polo, and motorsport are carving out for themselves in the mainstream conversation, and will do so in 2026. 

Pickleball’s Premium Ascent 

India's pickleball boom is common knowledge to sports marketers. But what makes pickleball a premium opportunity isn't just growth. it's who's playing and where they're playing. The World Pickleball League Season 2 (January 24–February 8, 2026), hosted at Mumbai's Jio World Garden with seven celebrity-owned franchises, is a perfect example of this.  

While accessibility remains part of pickleball's appeal, there's a clear premium segment emerging—one that values exclusivity, lifestyle positioning, and social cachet. 

Golf's Professional Revolution 

Indian golf gets two professional leagues this year. The Professional Golf Tour of India launched "72 The League"—India's first national professional golf league. Meanwhile, the Indian Golf Premier League, backed by Yuvraj Singh, brings a LIV Golf-style format. Both feature player auctions, city franchises, and guaranteed prize money. 

The DP World India Championship (October 15-18, 2026) at Delhi Golf Club carries a $4 million purse—the richest golf tournament in Indian history. 

F1's Technical Revolution 

Formula 1's growth trajectory in India is one of motorsport's most remarkable success stories. From 31 million fans in 2020, India's F1 viewership has surged nearly 30% over five years, pushing toward 60 million fans and cementing India's position as F1's fifth-largest market globally. 

What’s more, F1’s 2026 season brings its biggest regulatory changes in a decade. DRS is gone. In come smaller cars, active aerodynamics, hybrid power-boost overtaking, and a 22-car grid with the new Cadillac team. For F1's passionate urban Indian audience, the technical reset creates fresh storylines and entry points. 

The Premium Sports Opportunity 

These sports attract affluent audiences in metro and tier-1 markets—decision-makers and early adopters with international exposure. For brands targeting high-net-worth segments or seeking aspirational positioning, premium sports offer less-cluttered environments. 

3. Chess: India's Quiet Checkmate Goes Mainstream 

D. Gukesh Dommaraju became the youngest-ever undisputed World Chess Champion at 18 in December 2024. Now he defends his title in 2026 against the Candidates Tournament winner (March 28–April 16 in Cyprus). The media attention is sure to be massive, and the right time to get in is now. 

The recently concluded Tech Mahindra Global Chess League Season 3 (December 14–23, 2025) is a perfect representation of the mainstream hype of chess. Bringing elite international chess to Mumbai's cultural capital, the Royal Opera House with Gukesh, Viswanathan Anand, Hikaru Nakamura, and a $1 million prize fund, this tournament’s media coverage offers brands an uncluttered moment in the spotlight, while aligning with the values of intelligence and refined sportsmanship 

The window to get in is now, before chess sponsorship gets as competitive as established sports. 

Several factors are pushing chess forward: 

• World Champion defending in 2026: Gukesh's title defence will command major national coverage 

• Deep Indian talent: India has six players rated above 2700 globally, with Arjun Erigaisi at world No. 4 

• Franchise format proven: Global Chess League shows chess can deliver sustained engagement, not just tournament spikes 

2026 offers three paths: mainstream cultural momentum (women's cricket), premium lifestyle positioning (golf, F1, polo), and intellectual-aspirational alignment (chess). 

• Women's Cricket: Cultural moment meets proven commercial infrastructure 

• Premium Sports: Affluent audiences and international credibility in emerging categories 

• Chess: Intellectual cachet and national pride at sport-culture intersection 

Wishing eveeryone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Look foreard to partnering with Zupotsu to turn sporting moments into marketing wins. Register at www.zupotsu.com or contact marketing@zupotsu.com. 

Zupotsu is a martech platform on a mission to ‘digitize’ sports marketing. Zupotsu enables the discovery, engagement, and evaluation (the ‘DEE’ framework) for every sports and esports marketing asset. Please sign up at www.zupotsu.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram. Reach out at ‘marketing@zupotsu.com’ for any queries.