Supporting Communication Through the Football World Cup

Lauren Argent
Lauren Argent
7th July 2026

The Football World Cup kicks off in June 2026, bringing weeks of excitement, shared moments and global conversation. From watching matches with family to chatting about goals, teams and favourite players, football offers a brilliant opportunity for connection.

For people who use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication), events like the World Cup can be much more than something to watch – they can be a powerful context for participation, language learning and social interaction.

Why big events like the World Cup matter for AAC users

Large cultural events give us a shared topic. Everyone is talking about the same thing – who won, who scored, what kit they’re wearing, and whether the referee got it right!

This shared focus can:

    • Support motivating, meaningful communication

    • Encourage AAC use with peers, family, and wider social groups

    • Provide real reasons to comment, ask questions, express opinions and emotions

    • Help model how AAC can be used in everyday, natural conversations

In short: football isn’t “extra” vocabulary – it’s real life language.

Using AAC during matches

Match day is full of quick reactions and emotions, which AAC can absolutely support.

Some ideas:

    • Core words like go, stop, more, again, big, fast, good, bad

    • Emotional language: happy, excited, nervous, disappointed

    • Commenting: wow!, that was good, I like this, oh no

    • Turn-taking and interaction: your turn, watch, look

Modelling AAC during live moments shows that communication doesn’t have to be perfect or polished – it just needs to be functional and shared.

Talking about football – before and after the game

Conversations don’t start and end at kick‑off. AAC can support discussions:

    • Before the match: Who are we supporting? Where is the game being played? What do we think will happen?

    • After the match: Who scored? How did it feel? What was the best bit?

This is a great time to:

    • Add or highlight topic-specific vocabulary (teams, players, countries)

    • Use maps, flags or symbols to talk about where teams are from

    • Build narrative skills by retelling key moments of the match

You can but don’t always need separate “football pages”

One common misconception is that AAC users need a whole new set of pages or folders for events like the World Cup. In reality, core vocabulary does most of the work.

Words like like, want, not, good, bad, go, stop, win, lose allow users to say a lot – especially when supported by:

    • Partner modelling

    • Gestures, pointing, facial expression

    • Shared understanding of what’s happening

Football vocabulary can be layered in gradually, where it’s useful, rather than overwhelming the system.

Inclusion goes beyond the screen

Not every AAC user will love football – and that’s okay. Inclusion means having the choice to join in, comment, complain, or opt out.

AAC can help people:

    • Say “I don’t like this”

    • Ask to change the channel

    • Choose another activity during match time

    • Join conversations even if they’re not watching the game

Communication access is about having a voice, not forcing an interest.

Making the most of the World Cup

As the 2026 World Cup unfolds across June and July, it offers a fantastic opportunity to:

    • Model AAC in meaningful, real-world contexts

    • Show that AAC supports opinions, emotions and shared joy

    • Reinforce that communication belongs everywhere – including in front of the TV, at watch parties, and in playground debates about who’s going to win

Wherever football fits into someone’s life, AAC can help make sure they’re not just watching the conversation – they’re part of it.

As an Englishman, I’m going to leave with a parting comment of … Come on England!!