Two Labubu characters wearing football jerseys appear at the opening ceremony of 2026 FIFA World Cup as a special guest in Mexico City, on June 11, 2026.

Pop Mart's popular character Labubu made a surprise appearance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Mexico City on Thursday, becoming one of the event's special guests and stepping onto the global sports stage with other Chinese elements in spite of the absence of the Chinese football team, according to videos released by CCTV News.

Two performers dressed in fluffy, toothy Labubu mascot costumes, wearing football jerseys, appeared at the ceremony, drawing applause from the audience, videos posted by football fans showed.

Some media reports placed Labubu's performance as one of the most impressive moments of this year's FIFA World Cup opening.

Footage of the appearance quickly went viral on Chinese social media, topping the trending searches on Sina Weibo with the hashtag "Labubu made it to the World Cup."

According to the Xinhua News Agency, this is the first time a Chinese original trendy toy IP has been officially invited to appear at the FIFA World Cup.

Although the Chinese men's national team failed to qualify for the tournament, Chinese referee Ma Ning will make history as the first Chinese main referee at a World Cup. Combined with Labubu's appearance, many Chinese netizens jokingly referred to them as the "Chinese starting lineup" for this World Cup.

Some commented: "The Chinese team didn't make it, but the Chinese referee and Chinese IP showed up first."

The IP collaboration highlighted the growing global cultural influence of Chinese trendy brands and their successful expansion into major international sporting events, Chinese analysts said.

Labubu had already entered the football zeitgeist earlier. On May 21, a giant version of the character appeared in the official FIFA Sound music video for the song "Goals."

With the World Cup returning to North America for the first time since 1994, Chinese brand Pop Mart unveiled its latest collaboration - THE MONSTERS x FIFA Series - transforming the iconic Labubu character into a blue football hero, the New York Post reported.

Global Times