The 2026 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off in Mexico City on June 11th. It’s the largest FIFA tournament in history, with 48 teams competing over 104 matches. Instead of just one host country, like Qatar or Brazil, this year’s World Cup is being played at locations across the three host countries of Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. On June 16th, the tournament’s all-time daily attendance record was broken, with 281,223 fans in the stands for the France v. Senegal, Iraq v. Norway, Argentina v. Algeria, and Austria v. Jordan matches; the previous daily record of 277,070, was set all the way back in June of 1994.
Naturally, I wanted to share how you can use 3D printing to increase your enjoyment of this year’s World Cup, and football (soccer) in general!
Tiara Croatia
This “football fan headband” design by Pinshape user DarMar is perfect for the Croatia fan in your life. It’s a print that’s perfect for beginners, with no supports required and an optional brim. The recommended layer height is 0.20 mm, with a 10-15% infill. It’s optimized for two colors, with the headband itself and the lettering on top separated by height, which will make it simple to use a multi-material printer or add a filament change at the appropriate layer.
“Show your Croatian pride at football matches, watch parties, festivals, and sporting events with this eye-catching Croatia Fan Tiara! Featuring bold raised letters spelling CROATIA and a soccer ball accent, this lightweight headband is designed to stand out in the crowd while remaining comfortable to wear.”
World Cup National Team Logos
Thingiverse user SteveOst created designs for national soccer team logos that can be 3D printed as emblems, or for the flag on your mailbox. He currently has USMNT, MNST, and CNFT, and is working on other team logos, which he will post when ready.
World Cup Logo Fidget Clickers, Clicky Toy Keychain
If you like a good clicky fidget, then you’ll definitely want one of these team logo clickers from MyMiniFactory user Clickify 3D! Designed as tactile desk toys and keychain accessories, these compact fidget clickers feature a variety of national team logos, plus a miniature version of the World Cup on top. They were designed for mechanical keyboard switches, like the Kailh Box White V2, and the 3MF files have been pre-configured, so all you need to do is slice and print. These don’t need any supports, and are compatible with 2.4mm ball chains if you want to turn yours into a keychain.
“Pick your flag. Then try not to press it.”
Spiral World Cup Fidget
Speaking of 3D printable fidgets, I love this spiraling World Cup by Thingerse user 3dmonios. It’s a print-in-place model, no assembly required, with a fully rotating spiral structure that I would never stop playing with. The recommended layer height is 0.2 mm, and while you don’t need supports, you might want to use a brim if your printer has a hard time with tall models. The model is 100 mm tall, but you can scale it up if you want an even bigger version.
“After printing, rotate the upper section to free the moving parts and reveal the spiral transformation.”
Hybrid Services Scans & Prints Miniature for Crewe Alexandra F.C.
Crewe Alexandra captian Mickey Demetriou with his Mimaki 3D printed model. Image courtesy of Hybrid Services.
This last isn’t specifically for the World Cup, but I love it so much that I had to share. Crewe Alexandra F.C. is a professional association football club in Crewe, Cheshire, England. When the team was planning the reveal of its 2026-2027 uniform, or kit, they wanted to do something a little different. So they worked with Hybrid Services, the exclusive UK and Ireland distributor for Mimaki technology, to make a miniature version of club captain Mickey Demetriou.
“We’re constantly amazed at the capabilities of the various Mimaki technologies, and ever since we first saw the full colour 3D printer in action, we had an idea to somehow include it in a big production for the club,” said Crewe Alexandra’s Head of Commercial, James Beckett.
At the club, scans were taken of Demetriou using a handheld Artec Leo from Europac 3D, quickly capturing fine facial details, the texture of the shirt, and the branding elements of the new Puma uniform. Europac 3D processed and color balanced the scan data, then sent the files to Hybrid, which printed the miniature captain at its headquarters, just a short walk from the Crewe Alexandra club’s stadium. They chose the Mimaki 3DUJ-2207, which can print more than 10 million colors. The finished product was a lifelike, 20 cm tall version of Demetriou, which was placed next to the real Demetriou during the kit reveal video.
In addition to 3D printing the main miniature for the reveal video, Hybrid made a few smaller models for Demetriou’s children. Aimee, his wife, said on social media that their boys loved the “new pocket-sized Daddy” and kept him close, which is absolutely adorable.
This is a great example of how modern digital technologies, like 3D scanning and color 3D printing, are being more widely used in marketing and promotional campaigns, which can be very lucrative for the customers. The morning after Crewe Alexandra dropped their new kit launch video, fans were eagerly lining up at the club shop to buy their new season shirts.
“Kit launches are always popular with our fans on social media, but this one has done incredibly well. No pun intended but the 3D print from the Mimaki added another dimension to it, making it all the more intriguing and memorable,” Beckett said.
The 20cm high full colour 3D printed model was produced as part of Crewe Alexandra’s new season kit launch. Image courtesy of Hybrid Services.