The World Cup will put yerba mate on the map

What happens next is up to us. The World Cup has a way of turning local rituals into global demand almost overnight. We’ve seen it happen with beer, coffee, and tequila. In 2026, it may happen with yerba mate. Are the systems behind these traditions ready for what results from that visibility? Events like the World Cup move culture, but they also accelerate consumption and ecological pressure. The 2026 tournament will be the largest in FIFA history. One peer-reviewed analysis projects it could generate nearly double the carbon footprint of any World Cup in the past decade. When traditions rooted in land, culture, and biodiversity suddenly go worldwide, we become responsible for protecting the ecosystems and communities that sustain them.