Nike and Dazed Print a 50-Page Magazine for Soccer Summer

Nike and Dazed are putting American soccer's rise on newsstands instead of a banner ad.

The two released Dazed League, a limited-edition 50-page print magazine centered on the global soccer movement and timed to this summer's World Cup.

It's the second year the pair have worked together on a special issue, following 2025's Dazed Maxx.

This edition also marks the first time the independent title dedicated a full issue to soccer.

The cover, shot by Carlos Jaramillo and styled by Marcus Correa, features a lineup of names pulled from outside the pitch, including:

• Skateboarder Louie Lopez
• Artist Mika
• DJ Ari Mamnoon
• Photographer and director Estevan Oriol
• Model Nica the Fresh Prince
• Art curator Antoine J. Girard

Felicia Pennant, editorial director of Dazed League, said the sport has grown into something bigger than what happens on the field.

"[S]occer is self-expression, style, community pride, activism and freedom," Pennant explained.

She added that the issue "benchmarks where we're at, as the tide turns on home turf, and how this summer's tournament will accelerate the next phase."

Treating the World Cup as a culture story is how Nike plans to grow soccer with the American fans it's chasing, the long game behind this co-branding.

What's Inside the Soccer Issue

Inside, the magazine runs a handful of features focused on the community side of the game.

"Watch Parties" documents friend groups gathering to watch matches.

"Shrimp On The Ball" collects the dishes served at those same gatherings into a small cookbook.

"E Pluribus Unum: TOMA La Noche" is a photo study of player self-expression through hair, nails, and styling.

Lastly, "World Champions" is a double-sided illustrated tournament bracket made to be a removable insert.

Soccer excitement is everywhere right now, so a global brand like Nike spreads its message across many formats to stay in front of fans all summer.

Ahead of the tournament, the brand also released "Rip the Script," a six-minute film from Wieden+Kennedy.

It stars more than 30 athletes and cultural figures, backed by roughly 185 follow-up shorts running through the summer.

Dazed League follows a similar model of pairing one release with an extended run of smaller content, this time on paper rather than on screen.

The issue launched on June 29 as a free issue available at select stockists in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, and Atlanta.

A limited run will also reach Bryant Park, where Nike is hosting the final of its TOMA street league.

Print Still Earns Trust That Ads Can't Buy

For this campaign, Nike needed something that reads as credible to an audience that can smell a marketing push from a mile away.

A print magazine, sold through independent stockists, shows that the sportswear brand is willing to hand creative control to people outside its walls.

Dazed League's editorial team picked the cover stars, wrote the features, and shaped the tone, and Nike's logo shows up as a partner.

It's a match made in heaven, one that could capture the demographic that soccer is trying to win over in the U.S.

Here are some lessons we can learn from the effort: 

Hand the microphone to a credible third party.

Marketers chasing a skeptical audience should let an outside editorial voice choose the story, the same way Nike let Dazed stayed out of the cover star lineup.

Give a fast-moving campaign something that lasts.

Brands should always think ahead of short-lived content with a physical object people keep around.
A magazine serves this exact purpose in this context.

Use small, specific formats to reach niche interests.

Marketers should think outside the box and experiment with micro-content.
It's more refreshing to consumers than one campaign trying to speak to everyone at once.

A World Cup comes once every four years, so the window to earn cultural credibility is short.

The winners borrow trust from a brand partnership that already speaks to the fans they want to reach, then let that partner do the talking.

Our Take: Who Is This Magazine Actually For?

In the U.S., soccer's newest fans care about the scene as much as the score.

We think the issue is for the crowd that shows up to Bryant Park for the free merch and a good photo.

They're the casual fans that the World Cup wants to convert.

Putting Louie Lopez and Estevan Oriol on a soccer magazine cover is Nike and Dazed's way of saying identity travels faster than box scores.

We'd want to know how many of these issues actually leave the stockist's shelves versus how many end up as a nice photo on someone's feed.

A magazine only works as a flex when people carry it out in the real world, where the right crowd sees it in their hands.

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