What the World Cup can teach us about inclusive leadership
news published date 16 July 2026Every major sporting tournament reflects something about the society in which it takes place. While the FIFA World Cup is, first and foremost, about football, this year’s tournament has also become a platform for conversations about leadership, identity, belonging and the role models shaping the next generation. Stories celebrating friendship, empathy and emotional openness have sat alongside fierce competition, while campaigns have highlighted football’s influence on boys navigating an increasingly complex world. For organisations committed to building inclusive cultures – a challenge explored in WIBF’s report, The Inclusive Individual – there is something worth paying attention to.
Beyond the scoreline
The conversation is particularly timely. Male Allies UK’s recent Voice of the Boys report found that 79% of boys say they are not clear what masculinity is, while 72% do not have more than one person who knows them “really well”. Perhaps the most thought-provoking insight came from one participant who simply observed: “People always say what masculinity shouldn’t be, but don’t say what it is.”
While this may seem far removed from the workplace, today’s boys are tomorrow’s graduates, managers and leaders. The expectations they develop around leadership, relationships and emotional expression will help shape organisational culture in years to come. If we want more inclusive workplaces, it makes sense to pay attention to the influences shaping the next generation before they arrive at work.
Public debate has rightly challenged behaviours that exclude, intimidate or discriminate, yet positive conversations about modern masculinity often receive far less attention. As the report suggests, where healthy role models are absent or unclear, other voices are ready to fill the gap.
Football has not always provided those positive examples. For decades, the sport carried its own reputation for aggression, tribalism and narrow ideas about what it meant to be a man, and we have seen some of these behaviours played out in this World Cup. Likewise, financial services has faced criticism for cultures that rewarded presenteeism, excessive competitiveness and leadership styles often characterised as “alpha male”. Neither sector has changed overnight, and neither has completed its journey. Football, like financial services, continues to grapple with behaviours that undermine the cultures many are working to build. Yet both demonstrate that meaningful cultural change is possible, even if progress is rarely straightforward.
EE research collated in partnership with Professor Ben Hine found 42% of boys aged 11-16 come across content telling them ‘men shouldn’t show emotions’ or ‘boys need to toughen up’ at least a few times a week. Their World Cup campaign has deliberately focused on football’s role in shaping boys’ understanding of masculinity. Rather than presenting football purely as entertainment, the campaign argues that coaches, teammates and sporting communities can provide positive alternatives to the often polarised messages boys encounter online.
Leadership on and off the pitch
Players now speak openly about mental health. In 2025 Jude Bellingham, speaking as a Laureus Ambassador on World Mental Health Day, said: “I know there’s been times where I’ve felt vulnerable, doubted myself and needed someone to talk to – and, instead, I’ve tried to keep up this macho athlete image of, ‘I don’t need anyone’. The truth is I do – everyone does. And you’ll feel a lot better from talking about your feelings and emotions.”
Bellingham’s comments reflect a broader shift in the men’s game. Emotional openness is increasingly seen not as a weakness, but as part of being a successful athlete and teammate. That change is evident not only in how players talk about themselves, but also in how they relate to one another.
In 2022 Harry Kane launched the Harry Kane Foundation (HKF) with a long-term goal of helping to transform a generation’s thinking about mental health. He said, “I’ve had many challenging times throughout my life and my career. Talking about how you are feeling, whether it’s good or bad, with friends, family, or support networks… getting stuff off your chest is really important.”
Few people have done more to reshape perceptions of leadership in football than Gareth Southgate. During his time as England manager, he consciously set about changing not only how the team played but how it behaved. Trust, humility, collective responsibility and psychological safety became central to the culture he created. Players were encouraged to speak openly, support one another and understand that vulnerability was not incompatible with high performance. Southgate’s leadership demonstrated that culture is not an abstract concept; it is built through the behaviours leaders consistently model and reward.
Gareth Southgate may no longer be England manager, but the culture he helped build has outlasted his tenure. Thomas Tuchel has introduced his own ideas and style of play, yet the openness, togetherness and resilience that became hallmarks of Southgate’s England remain evident. Culture, after all, is not something that changes with a new name on the office door. It endures through the behaviours that teams continue to value and repeat. The culture Southgate established appears resilient enough to survive a change of leadership.
What financial services can learn
This is a lesson that extends far beyond sport. As WIBF’s The Inclusive Individual highlights, inclusion is not simply an organisational ambition; it is a series of individual behaviours that influence how people experience the workplace every day. The report describes itself as “a call to action”, encouraging each of us to play a part in creating environments where every individual is acknowledged, valued and able to contribute. That philosophy feels equally relevant to the examples emerging from this World Cup. The behaviours that define inclusive leadership – respect, empathy, collaboration and creating space for others to thrive – are not confined to offices or boardrooms. They are demonstrated wherever people lead by example.
There are clear parallels with financial services. Over the past decade, conversations about diversity have matured significantly. Increasing representation remains essential, but organisations increasingly recognise that recruitment alone does not create inclusion. The focus has expanded towards allyship, psychological safety, inclusive leadership and workplace cultures where different leadership styles are genuinely valued.
This evolution has not been without challenge. In 2018, MPs urged financial services to tackle the industry’s “alpha male” culture, recognising that long-term success depends on creating environments where collaboration, respect and openness are valued alongside technical expertise. Progress has undoubtedly been made across many organisations, although few would argue the journey is complete. Culture cannot be transformed through policies alone; it changes through everyday interactions, visible role models and leaders who consistently demonstrate the values they expect others to follow.
This is where the World Cup offers an interesting perspective. The most influential moments of the tournament are not always the goals or the trophies. They are often the quieter examples of leadership: teammates lifting one another after mistakes, players speaking honestly about pressure, coaches putting collective success ahead of individual ego and friendships that cut across club rivalries and national borders. These moments reinforce the idea that strength and empathy are not opposing qualities but complementary ones.
This is not about suggesting football has all the answers, nor about implying that inclusion has been achieved. Rather, it is a reminder that culture is shaped by the examples we choose to celebrate. Just as women benefit from seeing successful female leaders in financial services, boys and young men also benefit from seeing examples of masculinity rooted in respect, kindness, accountability and collaboration. Creating healthier role models for boys and young men does not detract from efforts to improve opportunities for women; if anything, the two reinforce one another. Organisations benefit when everyone is encouraged to lead with empathy, curiosity and respect.
The Voice of the Boys report concludes that today’s boys are looking for belonging, trusted relationships and opportunities to explore who they want to become. Those aspirations should resonate with anyone working to build inclusive workplaces because the leaders entering our organisations over the next decade are watching today’s role models long before they arrive at work.
Whether in football or financial services, progress rarely comes from a single campaign, report or inspirational leader. It comes from thousands of everyday interactions that redefine what good leadership looks like. The behaviours we celebrate today – on the pitch, in our workplaces and in society – will help shape the leaders of tomorrow.