FA sends cease and desist letter to Iceland over World Cup marketing stunt

As England continue to recover from the immense disappointment of losing to Argentina, a legal letter sent to the FA has emerged.

By Patrick Austen-Hardy, Senior Sports Journalist 22:03, 17 Jul 2026 | Updated 22:04, 17 Jul 2026

Supermarket chain Iceland was sent a cease and desist letter by the Football Association (FA) for a marketing stunt conducted before England's World Cup clash with Argentina. The Three Lions are still recovering from the heartbreak of losing 2–1 to the reigning champions in Atlanta.

As the nation mourns the defeat, it has emerged that Iceland was handed a legal letter telling them to abandon a brief marketing campaign they ran before the match. The chain allowed three of their stores to be taken over by World Cup fever, renaming the locations to "England" and adjusting the signage accordingly.

The FA was reportedly unimpressed by the stunt. Iceland claims it was hit with a legal warning demanding they stop the campaign and remove any material promoting it.

Legal Letter Delivered on Match Day

The letter was received on the very day Thomas Tuchel's side took on the South Americans. Representatives of the FA are understood to have told the chain that customers might be led to believe there was a commercial relationship between the supermarket and the FA—when there was none.

Iceland's Response

An Iceland spokesperson said:

"We are shocked and deeply disappointed that, on the day the whole country was getting behind England, the FA chose to send lawyers after us instead of celebrating the incredible support being shown for the national team.

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"Our shopfront signage change was in three hometown stores of Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Jordan Pickford and was about nothing more than backing England and creating a bit of excitement for our customers and colleagues ahead of one of the biggest matches in years.

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"What makes this even more extraordinary is the timing. Had England beaten Argentina, this letter would have meant us stripping away our displays, removing our social media posts and ending our celebrations just days before a World Cup Final.

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"At the very moment the nation could have been coming together to support England on the biggest stage of all, we were being told to take everything down. That's something we find difficult to understand."

Iceland also insisted there was no intention to suggest a commercial relationship between them and the England team. The chain further claimed that the FA believed the image of the England team may have been negatively impacted by the stunt, and that Iceland was ordered to remove all material and submit written confirmation of compliance by 4pm on July 17.

Potential Impact on Final Celebrations

Had England beaten Argentina to reach the final, the cease and desist letter would have forced Iceland to take down their promotional signage before what would have been England's first World Cup final since 1966.

What's Next for England

Tuchel's side have one more match in the USA: the third-place play-off clash against France. They face each other in Miami on Saturday, July 18, with the match kicking off at 10pm BST.

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