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Reuters Lego to continue sports expansion with soccer players By Iain Axon and Tom Little April 2, 20269:59
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By Iain Axon and Tom Little
April 2, 20269:59 AM CDTUpdated April 2, 2026
April 2 (Reuters) – Danish toymaker Lego will continue its expansion into the sports market this year with a collaboration with four of the world’s most famous soccer players.
Sets celebrating Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be made available ahead of the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
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In total, seven sets have been made – four featuring letter-shaped designs representing each footballer which cost $29, as well as display models of Ronaldo and Messi ($79).
World Cup winner Messi also has his own 1,427-piece of 3D wall art which will feature him in his signature victory pose ($179), while each player will also have his own mini-figure available with the cheaper sets.
“Similar to football, LEGO play is all about building and rebuilding, trying new things, learning from mistakes and celebrating successes,” said Messi. “I love how these LEGO sets bring my pitch moments to life in a fun and imaginative way.”
[3/4]The LEGO Editions ‘Football Highlights’ set for Kylian Mbappe is displayed in the LEGO campus buildings in Billund, Denmark, March 27, 2026. REUTERS/Tom Little Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr. said he hoped the project would help promote his passion for inclusivity.
“It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what language you speak, people connect through creativity and that’s really powerful,” he said.
“I didn’t have much growing up, but I used to play with LEGO at school, for example. Like a lot of kids, I loved building things, creating my own world, using my imagination. That’s something that stays with you, even as you get older.”
Lego, founded nearly 100 years ago and still privately owned, is betting big on the World Cup, having launched a replica trophy set in March.
It has already had success in the motor sport market, and last year its designers built 10 functioning Formula One cars for the Miami Grand Prix.
Julia Goldin, Lego’s Chief Marketing and Product Officer, said there would be a wider football programme to coincide with the World Cup, including fan zone experiences.
By Reuters
April 2, 20268:15 AM CDTUpdated April 2, 2026
[1/2]President of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) Gabriele Gravina attends the unveiling of the federation’s new logo in Milan, Italy, October 4, 2021. REUTERS/Flavio Lo Scalzo/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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ROME, April 2 (Reuters) – Italian soccer federation (FIGC) president Gabriele Gravina resigned on Thursday, in the wake of the national team’s failure to qualify for a third straight World Cup.
Gravina, in charge of the FIGC since 2018, had been urged by the government to step down after Italy’s defeat on penalties in the playoff against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday.
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The federation will hold an extraordinary assembly on June 22 to elect a new chief, while Gravina offered to appear before a parliamentary committee on April 8 “to report on the state of health of Italian soccer”, a statement said.
That hearing has now been cancelled, as the committee awaits the election outcome.
The Italian soccer team last qualified for the World Cup in 2014 and has won only one match at the finals since lifting the trophy for the fourth time in 2006.
Former goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, national team delegation head, has also announced his resignation via social media.
Gravina was elected unopposed in October 2018, the 72-year-old replacing Carlo Tavecchio who resigned a week after Italy failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
“After many years there is a feeling of great bitterness, but great serenity,” Gravina told reporters.
“I must thank all the federal components who today have shown me great affection, support and closeness today, also insisting that I continue, but my personal choice was made with conviction and careful consideration.”
While Gravina’s term included the Euro 2020 triumph, it also involved another two World Cup qualification failures and his position had become increasingly untenable after much criticism from Italian media and senior political figures.
Italy’s Sports Minister Andrea Abodi described Italy’s latest failure as a “definitive defeat” and suggested that Italian football needs to be “rebuilt from the ground up”.
Gravina spoke immediately after the loss to Bosnia, saying he understood the request for resignation but that there was a suitable place to make evaluations.
That place was the FIGC headquarters in Rome, where Gravina met with the six federal components – Serie A, B and C, National Amateur League, Players’ Association and Coaches Association – and informed them of his decision at the start of the meeting.
Gravina was re-elected in February 2021, and again in February 2025 with his mandate due to end in 2028, but the search now begins for his successor.
Names already being mentioned include 67-year-old former head of Italy’s Olympic Committee (CONI) Giovanni Malago and previous FIGC president Giancarlo Abete. Abete, 75, held the role from 2007 to 2014.
Buffon, former Italy goalkeeper and part of the 2006 World Cup-winning side, wrote on Instagram that he had initially offered his resignation immediately after the loss to Bosnia, but had been asked to take time to reflect.
“Now that president Gravina has chosen to take a step back, I feel free to do what I feel is an act of responsibility,” Buffon wrote.
“Because, even in the sincere conviction that I have built so much on a spirit and group level with Rino Gattuso and all the collaborators, in a very short time at the disposal of the national team, the main objective was to bring Italy back to the World Cup.
“We didn’t succeed. It’s fair to leave it to those who will come after, the freedom to choose the figure they think is best to play my role.”
Gravina had also come in for heavy criticism for comments he made after the Bosnia defeat, when asked why Italy excelled in other disciplines but not in football.
In his response, Gravina said that football is a professional sport, while the others are amateur, which caused outrage, with many Italian athletes taking to social media.
Irma Testa, the first female boxer to represent Italy at the Olympics and bronze medallist in 2020, wrote on Instagram that ‘we are the real professionals’ and the FIGC statement on Thursday said that Gravina expressed regret over the interpretation of his remarks.
Gravina explained that his comments referred to the presence within some federations of leagues with their own autonomy and the corporate nature of professional clubs which must comply with national and international legislation.
After Gravina and Buffon’s resignations, Italy manager Gennaro Gattuso’s position is also under question, with his contract ending in June. Media reports have linked Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri as possible replacements.
Reporting by Roberto Mignucci, Alvise Armellini and Trevor Stynes, editing by Gavin Jones and Christian Radnedge
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters Lego to continue sports expansion with soccer players By Iain Axon and Tom Little April 2, 20269:59
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