The 2026 World Cup showed how the attention economy is reshaping sport (Background screenshot via YouTube, foreground image via Adobe Stock)The 2026 World Cup exposed how modern sport increasingly treats fans not as spectators, but as products whose attention is constantly being sold, writes Jack Waters. This World Cup did a really great job at reminding me of my place in the world — I am a consumer. That’s why the World Cup bothered me so much, because it didn’t feel like an escape anymore. Not the World Cup, I’m over that now. The World Cup reminded me that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to just enjoy something for what it is.