FIFA revenues projected to surpass $10bn with 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup will be the most lucrative sports event ever staged, with FIFA's revenues set to top $10billion (£7.4bn), according to a new report from London-based agency Pitch Marketing Group.
Released on Wednesday, June 10, 'The Pitch Report — how to win at the 2026 FIFA World Cup' predicts a worldwide audience for the six-week tournament of over five billion people, almost two-thirds of the global population, with more than 700 billion combined engagements across all forms of media.
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Co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., the tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19 next summer, with games played in 16 cities across the three countries.
FIFA itself has said it expects to bring in $13bn over the four-year 2023-2026 cycle, although that includes revenues from the 2023 Women's World Cup, this summer's Club World Cup and its annual licensing and sponsorship income.
This is more than double the amount FIFA earned in the four-year cycle that ended with Russia 2018 and almost 75 per cent more than the $7.5bn FIFA brought in over the Qatar 2022 cycle.
The main reason for this big increase in predicted revenues is the tournament's expansion from 32 to 48 teams, with the number of games growing from 64 to 104. But the report also believes it will be a 'global moment of convergence, with sport, technology, music, culture, media, politics and identity all colliding at an unprecedented scale'.
Based on interviews with bosses at brands such as UK mobile phone network EE, global music streamer Spotify and online video platform YouTube, the report says the tournament, which is being co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the U.S., will be the 'biggest cultural phenomenon in history', 'transcending' any previous major sports event in its impact.
Sandy Doran, strategy director at Pitch, said the winners will include players who can create their own content and Canada, which has 'a great opportunity to charm us all', but 'the biggest winners are likely to be FIFA themselves'.
FIFA has recently released an economic impact report that claims this summer's Club World Cup and the 2026 World Cup will boost U.S. gross domestic output by $47bn and create nearly 300,000 jobs. The study, which was conducted by Rome-based financial analysis firm OpenEconomics, also said the two tournaments would add $62bn to global economic output.
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If that is to be the case, the 2026 World Cup is going to have to meet all of its targets, as this summer's Club World Cup – the first edition of a new, expanded, 32-team format – is shaping up to be a disappointment in terms of financial returns, with ticket sales being particularly underwhelming.
(FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images)
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