Adidas introduces Backyard Legends, a five-minute film for the 2026 football tournament. The campaign brings Timothée Chalamet together with Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Trinity Rodman, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham, and Alessandro Del Piero in a story about neighborhood football, free play, and the brand’s You Got This message.
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The film follows Chalamet as he learns about Clive, Ruthie, and Isaak, a local crew with a “win or go home” streak that has lasted for generations. Their reputation has grown through backyard lore, with past challengers including 90s names such as Zidane, Beckham, and Del Piero. Chalamet sets out to build a team strong enough to face them, turning a local pitch story into a larger football fantasy.
Chalamet brings a personal connection to the project. In the campaign notes, he recalls playing at Pier 40 as a child and thinking about Beckham free kicks, Del Piero goals, and Zidane volleys while trying his own versions. He describes his love for the game and his excitement about joining adidas for a film alongside some of football’s greatest names.
Backyard Legends also includes cameos from Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé, Raphinha, Pedri, Florian Wirtz, and Santiago Gimenez. Each cameo adds to the story around Clive, Ruthie, and Isaak, building the sense that their local pitch has gathered its own mythology over decades of challengers.
The visual language leans into 90s street and terrace style, analogue technology, era-specific hairstyles, and a nostalgic soundtrack. adidas also uses CGI and visual effects to turn a backyard setting into a football story with a larger scale. The film returns to a simple idea: pressure drops when players approach the game through freedom, play, and belief.
Florian Alt, Vice President Global Brand Communications at adidas, frames Backyard Legends around the feeling of playing for joy, with no pressure and no expectations. He connects that idea to You Got This, adidas’ message to athletes and fans ahead of a major summer of sport. The campaign places self-belief and playfulness beside competition, with the aim of encouraging professional and grassroots players to bring freedom to every pitch.
adidas also enters the 2026 tournament through its long-running role in football. The brand supplies the Official Match Ball and kits for 14 federations competing next summer. With Backyard Legends, adidas links that major stage to the places where football often begins: a cage pitch, a parking lot, a patch of grass, or a backyard game among friends.
