Russia World Cup Group 8 Exceeds 600 Billion Won
Huge Success from Broadcasting Rights Revenue and Sponsor Contracts
The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) is expected to generate astronomical profits through the World Cup, the world's largest festival.
On the 21st (Korean time), the Associated Press (AP) reported that FIFA made a record revenue of $7.5 billion (approximately 10.1 trillion KRW) over four years from 2019 to this year related to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. This figure far exceeds the $6.4 billion (approximately 8.6 trillion KRW) revenue from 2015 to 2018, ahead of the 2018 Russia World Cup. It increased by about 1.5 trillion KRW.
The main factors for the increase were broadcasting rights revenue and sponsorship contracts. Under the leadership of President Gianni Infantino, who took office in 2016, a huge amount of money was raised. The US ESPN reported, "Qatar spent about $220 billion (approximately 296 trillion KRW) preparing for this tournament," adding, "This amount is more than twice the cost of hosting the previous eight World Cups." AP analyzed that "income significantly increased through sponsorship contracts with Qatar's state-owned companies, a resource-rich country."
FIFA expects even greater profits from the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted for the first time by three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico. They are confident that the increase in the number of participating teams from 32 to 48 countries will provide a greater effect. They also plan to expand further by preparing separate sponsorship contracts for the Women's World Cup. AP predicted, "FIFA will make a surplus of $10 billion (approximately 13.5 trillion KRW) from the 2026 World Cup."
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