The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has, in commercial terms, been a riotous success.
Yes, FIFA is facing scrutiny over the integrity of the tournament, some tickets are selling for several times the GDP per capita of some participating nations, and hydration breaks have been roundly booed at every opportunity.
But for FIFA and its head honcho, Gianni Infantino, the tournament has been extraordinarily lucrative. It is also, they say in response to its critics, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to harness the fanbase in America, which is considered commercial mecca for a sport whose primary markets are still Europe and South America.
FIFA is projecting revenues of $13bn over the four-year cycle over which it assesses its finances.
Turnover is rising in every category, from traditional income streams broadcast rights to the kind of bizarre commercial innovation one could only find in the States, such as selling tiny squares of the pitch on which the World Cup final in New Jersey will be played.
The final – which will be contested by two of France, Spain, Argentina or England – could be among the most lucrative events in the history of sports. And the latest detail illustrates just how much money FIFA is expecting to make from the event.
World Cup final expected to rival Super Bowl financial record at MetLife Stadium
The Super Bowl might be the biggest event in the United States, but its audience is dwarfed by the World Cup final.
An average of just under 126 million people tuned in for Super Bowl LX, while the 2022 World Cup final – where Lionel Messi’s Argentina beat France in all-time classic – drew in an average of 571 million, with highs of 1.4 billion.
But soccer is yet to commercialise itself as well as the NFL – until now, perhaps.
A report from Sports Business Journal suggests that chiefs at the MetLife Stadium are forecasting food, drink and retail sales of around $11m for the final, rivalling the total sales from the 2014 Super Bowl.
It is a quite astonishing total, and one which surely signposts the incredible sums that FIFA is projecting to make from matchdays across the tournament.
MetLife Stadium, which has been temporarily renamed as New Jersey New Jersey Stadium for FIFA sponsorship reasons, will have staged eight matches out of 104 in total throughout the World Cup this summer.
FIFA has nearly doubled its attendance record at this new, expanded version of the tournament.
In Qatar in 2022, FIFA’s ticketing and hospitality sales were about $950m. World soccer’s organising body expects at least treble that figure in 2026.
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