FIFA Will Earn a Record $9 Billion Following the Most Profitable World Cup in History
The 2026 FIFA World Cup became the largest and most profitable tournament in the history of the sport. By the end of the year, FIFA expects to generate record revenue exceeding $9 billion.
The largest World Cup in history concluded on July 19 with Spain’s victory over Argentina. However, the tournament’s biggest financial winner was not the winning team, but FIFA itself, which will generate record profits from hosting the tournament.
According to FIFA’s own estimates, the organization’s revenue for 2026 will exceed $9 billion. Thus, this World Cup has become the most profitable sports tournament in history.
For the first time, 48 national teams competed in the final stage instead of the 32 that participated four years ago, and the number of matches increased from 64 to 104. The tournament itself lasted six weeks instead of four.
More matches mean more content for TV networks, more tickets sold, and more opportunities for advertisers—and thus a broader global audience. The publication cites FIFA President Gianni Infantino as the driving force behind the tournament’s aggressive commercialization.
North America became the ideal testing ground for the new 48-team format, but it wasn’t without its critics. First and foremost, this was due to ticket prices, which ranged from $60 to over $10,000. According to the analytics firm TicketData, the average ticket price exceeded $900. Despite concerns about ticket affordability, demand remained strong. According to Football Benchmark, stadiums were nearly full during the group stage, at 99% capacity.
Encouraged by strong ticket sales, Infantino has already announced a possible expansion of the tournament to 64 teams in 2030.
It is noted that U.S. President Donald Trump was actively involved in organizing the tournament, which the United States co-hosted with Mexico and Canada. Trump and Infantino share a close relationship. Last year, FIFA awarded the American leader its first Peace Prize after he had actively, though unsuccessfully, sought the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump’s 2025 financial disclosure form, released last week, revealed that Infantino had given him 10 tickets worth $15,000 for last year’s FIFA Club World Cup final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
CNBC adds that the 2030 tournament promises to be even larger in scale. FIFA has allocated a $6 billion budget for the event. The competition will coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first World Cup, and the organization is already touting it as an even more attractive event for broadcasters.
According to Fortune, the winner of this year’s World Cup will earn $51 million. In total, FIFA distributes funds to 48 national soccer associations in two categories: Prize money depends on how far a team advances in the tournament bracket, and there are fixed payments for preparation and training.
Thus, each national team is guaranteed to receive at least $12.5 million for participating in the World Cup. Of this amount, $10 million is paid for qualifying for the final tournament and participating in the group stage, while the remaining $2.5 million goes toward pre-tournament preparation and organizational expenses.
CNBC reports on this.
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