FIFA World Cup Fever Invades North America
Founded in 1904, FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. It serves as the world’s governing body for soccer – or as it’s called throughout most of the world, football. As a side note, the U.S., Canada and Australia remain some of the few countries that still refer to the game as soccer.
As part of its role, FIFA organizes numerous international soccer tournaments. The granddaddy of all these tournaments is the FIFA World Cup, held every four years. The first World Cup was held in 1930 in Uruguay. FIFA changes host locations for each World Cup tournament.
For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA expanded the number of teams from 32 to 48. A total of 104 tournament games will be played across 16 cities in three countries – 11 cities in the U.S., three in Mexico and two in Canada. The 2026 World Cup started on June 11 with the championship game to be held at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Sunday, July 19.
According to 2025 data from WorldAtlas, soccer is by far the world’s most popular sport, with a global fan base estimated at 3.5 billion. For its 2026 World Cup tournament, FIFA projects global viewership for all 104 games will reach six billion across television, streaming and other forms of digital consumption. This is up from the roughly five billion viewers for the 2022 World Cup and would make the 2026 tournament the most-watched event in history.
Understandably, all this viewership and fanfare is expected to drive massive revenues. FIFA estimates its 2026 World Cup will deliver a record $8.9 billion in revenues, up 53.4% from its 2022 tournament.
The biggest generator of that revenue (44%, or $3.92 billion) will come from the highly lucrative broadcasting rights. The 2026 World Cup will be viewed in over 200 countries and territories across the world. 34% ($3 billion) of the revenue will come from ticket sales and hospitality/VIP packages. 20% ($1.78 billion) will be generated from sponsorships, including major deals with Adidas, Coca-Cola and Visa, among others. Finally, licensing and merchandising ($111 million) and miscellaneous revenues ($72 million) from fan zones will each contribute about 1% of the total $8.9 billion in revenue FIFA is expected to generate.
FIFA estimates the 104 games will draw 6.5 million attendees, with 40% (2.6 million) being international travelers. Here in the U.S., the 16 American cities that will host tournament games are projected to derive a combined $30.5 billion in economic impact. FIFA also estimates the U.S.-held games will create or support 185,000 jobs and deliver $3.4 billion in tax revenues.
But one of the criticisms is the high cost of actually attending a game. For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA introduced what’s called dynamic pricing. This is a pricing strategy where the cost of a ticket changes over time based on market conditions, rather than remaining fixed. The greater the demand for a key game or matchup, the higher the ticket prices for that game tend to rise.
According to Ticketdata.com, the average price for a cheap ticket for the June 13 game between Qatar and Switzerland held in San Francisco was $463. Again, that’s not the average ticket price, which was much higher. $463 was the average price for just one of the cheapest tickets in the stadium.
If you went to see the highly popular Brazil team play Morocco on June 13 in New Jersey, the average price for a cheap ticket was $1,749. However, the average price for a cheap ticket to watch Mexico play South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City cost $3,738.
For the championship game to be played on July 19 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the average cheap ticket will cost you a wallet-melting $8,007. According to SeatGeek, premium seats for the championship game are being offered at $195,000 per ticket. Ultra high-end VIP hospitality packages – which include field access for the trophy presentation – can be bought for between $1-$4 million per ticket. Yes, there are a lot of ticket options. The only limit is the size of your pocketbook.
Admittedly, as a non-soccer fan, the 2026 World Cup is my once every four-year dose of soccer. But the games, and the energy and excitement they create, have been both fun and entertaining to watch. However, with the high price of tickets, I’ll be watching the games from a local bar or from the comfort of my basement couch. Enjoy the rest of the tournament!
Mark M. Grywacheski, Investment Advisor
Quad Cities Investment Group is a Registered Investment Adviser.
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