Brand Rights Protection and the 2026 FIFA World Cup: A Q&A With Tiffany Shepard (JD ’12)

As the world prepares to watch the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final on Sunday, July 19, one Northwestern Pritzker Law alumna plays a unique role within the world’s most watched sporting event. As Director & Senior Counsel of Brand Rights Protection, Tiffany M. Shepard (JD ‘12) leads the North American enforcement strategy to safeguard FIFA’s World Cup 2026 intellectual property (IP), retail licensing, and sponsorship rights from ambush marketing, counterfeiting, and unauthorized affiliations. We spoke with Tiffany to learn more of her career path and what it takes to enforce brand protection across a global stage.   

What did your career path look like between graduating in 2012 and joining FIFA?  

I graduated from Northwestern in 2012 and immediately joined IBM as Counsel, supporting the legal needs of its sales organization. I was naturally curious, so I began taking on special projects with the intellectual property team, which broadened my experience beyond commercial contracting. 

From there, I joined Procter & Gamble as Brand Counsel for Bounty, Charmin, and Puffs. Over time, I also became the legal point of contact for our sports marketing partnerships and was later recommended to lead Brand Protection across North America. 

After P&G, I became Associate General Counsel at The Kraft Heinz Company, where I advised on NIL partnerships, FTC compliance, intellectual property and marketing strategies for iconic billion-dollar brands like Kool-Aid, Lunchables, and Kraft Mac & Cheese. 

I then joined BuzzFeed as Assistant General Counsel of Legal & Business Affairs, supporting talent negotiations, commercial transactions, sponsorships, events, international licensing and branded content. 

Today, as Director & Senior Counsel of Brand Rights Protection for the FIFA World Cup 2026, I lead the North American match- day enforcement strategy to protect FIFA’s intellectual property, retail licensing, and sponsorship rights from ambush marketing, counterfeiting, and unauthorized commercial affiliations. 

What is the most rewarding part of protecting the identity of the world’s biggest sporting event?  

For me, it’s collaborating to find creative solutions. 

The brand protection team’s work falls into three primary areas: protecting the tournament’s intellectual property from unauthorized commercial associations, protecting fans from counterfeit merchandise and ticket fraud and safeguarding the investments our official sponsors have made by preventing ambush marketing. 

Brand Protection is often a game of whack-a-mole. Not every situation has a perfect legal solution, so some of the most rewarding moments come from working collaboratively, leveraging relationships and finding practical solutions that protect the tournament while also considering the optics and, at times, reaching thoughtful compromise.  

How do you manage a cross-border legal team and coordinate with local law enforcement in different host cities?  

It’s truly a team effort. 

While I oversee the program across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, I am grateful to have three outstanding country-specific counsels who are regional Brand Protection leads supported by two incredible coordinators and a few rockstar interns. Together, they coordinate enforcement plans, build relationships with host city leaders and ensure our strategy is tailored to their respective markets. 

Developing an overarching North American strategy is only the first step. Together, we adapt that strategy to each country’s legal framework, each host city’s culture and the unique operational realities of every stadium. 

By match day, that same 5-person leadership team has onboarded and supports a 32-person legal team (two lawyers assigned to each stadium) who execute our enforcement plans on the ground throughout the tournament. Watching that coordination come together across three countries is incredibly rewarding. 

What is the most rewarding part of collaborating with different host cities to welcome fans?  

Working with the host cities has been one of my favorite parts of the job. Every city has its own personality, culture and priorities, so there’s never a one-size-fits-all approach. It’s been rewarding to build relationships with each host city, understand their unique perspectives and tailor our approach in a way that supports both FIFA’s objectives and each city’s vision for welcoming fans from around the world. 

How does your team work with local businesses to help them celebrate the World Cup legally and successfully?  

We want local businesses to be excited about the tournament and to benefit from the incredible energy it brings. We’ve partnered with several host cities to educate businesses and fans on the do’s and don’ts of World Cup-related marketing, particularly in cities with Clean Zones, where some of these concepts may be new. Our goal is to help businesses celebrate responsibly while protecting the rights that make it possible for the tournament to happen. 

Brand protection involves so many moving parts—what does a successful day look like for your team?  

Well, I really love to see a successfully enforced clean zone but that’s not always easy. 

So for me, success has been watching our regional leads bring the match-day enforcement program to life. And then seeing each brand protection team take ownership of their stadiums, adapt to real-time challenges and confidently lead operations on the ground has been incredibly rewarding. My role is to set the overarching strategy but watching the team execute it with excellence, and often improve upon it, is what makes a successful day.  

What makes the FIFA World Cup brand so inspiring to defend on a global stage?  

The passion behind the World Cup is unlike anything else. Everyone wants to be part of it, from small local businesses that may not understand ambush marketing to sophisticated counterfeit operations constantly finding new ways to exploit the tournament. 

That means we’re constantly adapting, thinking creatively and staying one step ahead. 

 I genuinely enjoy that challenge. 

 It keeps our work interesting, and it reminds me every day just how valuable and globally recognized the FIFA World Cup brand truly is. 

How does it feel to look back at your graduation in 2012 and see yourself leading the legal rights for the world’s biggest sporting event?  

As someone who jokingly describes herself as a newly created soccer fan, I never imagined this would be my career path. It’s truly been a dream come true but not only because I get to work on the world’s biggest sporting event, but because I’ve had the opportunity to learn from exceptional leaders in the FIFA26 legal department. 

Our General Counsel, Curtis Franks, has built an outstanding legal team across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. His leadership, vision and commitment to excellence have created an environment where people are challenged, supported and inspired to do their best work. Being part of that team has been one of the highlights of my career. 

What is one piece of advice you have for young lawyers who want to build a career in global sports rights?  

Most lawyers don’t graduate straight into professional sports and that’s okay. Every sports organization needs lawyers who understand commercial transactions, intellectual property, compliance, employment, real estate, litigation, M&A, and countless other specialties. So don’t become so focused on getting your dream sports job immediately that you overlook the value of building expertise somewhere else. 

Focus on becoming excellent at your craft because those skills are highly transferable. 

I didn’t officially enter the sports, media and entertainment industry until more than a decade after law school, but every role I held beforehand prepared me. Looking back, there wasn’t a single stop along the way that I would remove from my journey because each one gave me skills I rely on every day at FIFA World Cup 2026.