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The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has come to an end, and FIFA expects to rake in US$9 billion in revenue

2026-07-20·newswire-us-stock-092340
The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has come to an end, and FIFA expects to rake in US$9 billion in revenue.

The largest World Cup in the history of the United States, Canada and Mexico came to an end on Sunday (July 19) local time. The Spanish team defeated Argentina 1-0 in overtime and won the highest honor in international football every four years.

In stoppage time, Argentina's Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Spanish defender Paulo Cubasi, leaving Argentina with only 10 players. Spain's Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the game in overtime, helping Spain win its second World Cup title in team history.

During the halftime of the final, artists such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS and Shakira participated in the World Cup's first "Super Bowl-style" halftime show. Judging from the results, whether it is the passion on the field or the carnival off the field, it will eventually be funneled into the accounts of FIFA.

Behind the scenes, FIFA is destined to become the financial winner of this event. According to its own estimates, this most influential sports event in world football will bring in more than 9 billion US dollars in revenue in 2026. This World Cup is the first time the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 four years ago.

This means that the number of games has increased from 64 to 104 and the schedule has been extended from four to six weeks. FIFA President Infantino has always been the main driving force behind the commercialization of football matches.

According to TicketData data, ticket prices range from US$60 to more than US$10,000, with the median ticket price as high as more than US$900. As the tournament approaches, there are also doubts about the affordability of event tickets and whether fan demand will continue.

Nonetheless, actual demand has shown great resilience, according to data analytics firm Football Benchmark. Antonio Di Cianni, consulting director of Football Benchmark, pointed out in an interview last Friday (July 17), "In the group stage, the stadium occupancy rate has basically reached its peak, reaching 99%.

This shows that people are willing to pay these prices." The person in charge of the company also said that this will be the most profitable World Cup so far. Encouraged by strong ticket sales, Infantino has begun to float the idea of further expanding the tournament to 64 teams by 2030.

He pointed out on July 10, "These are issues we will discuss after the World Cup." Kieran Maguire, associate professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, said that if implemented, a 64-team World Cup would see nearly a third of qualifying countries take part, making the sport more inclusive.

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The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico has come to an end, and FIFA expects to rake in US$9 billion in revenue

The largest World Cup in the history of the United States, Canada and Mexico came to an end on Sunday (July 19) local time. The Spanish team defeated Argentina 1-0 in overtime and won the highest honor in international football every four years. In stoppage time, Argentina's Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Spanish defender Paulo Cubasi, leaving Argentina with only 10 players. Spain's Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the game in overtime, helping Spain win its second World Cup title in team history.

The largest World Cup in the history of the United States, Canada and Mexico came to an end on Sunday (July 19) local time. The Spanish team defeated Argentina 1-0 in overtime and won the highest honor in international football every four years. In stoppage time, Argentina's Enzo Fernandez was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Spanish defender Paulo Cubasi, leaving Argentina with only 10 players. Spain's Ferran Torres scored the only goal of the game in overtime, helping Spain win its second World Cup title in team history. During the halftime of the final, artists such as Madonna, Justin Bieber, BTS and Shakira participated in the World Cup's first "Super Bowl-style" halftime show. Judging from the results, whether it is the passion on the field or the carnival off the field, it will eventually be funneled into the accounts of FIFA. Behind the scenes, FIFA is destined to become the financial winner of this event. According to its own estimates, this most influential sports event in world football will bring in more than 9 billion US dollars in revenue in 2026. This World Cup is the first time the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, up from 32 four years ago. This means that the number of games has increased from 64 to 104 and the schedule has been extended from four to six weeks. FIFA President Infantino has always been the main driving force behind the commercialization of football matches. According to TicketData data, ticket prices range from US$60 to more than US$10,000, with the median ticket price as high as more than US$900. As the tournament approaches, there are also doubts about the affordability of event tickets and whether fan demand will continue. Nonetheless, actual demand has shown great resilience, according to data analytics firm Football Benchmark. Antonio Di Cianni, consulting director of Football Benchmark, pointed out in an interview last Friday (July 17), "In the group stage, the stadium occupancy rate has basically reached its peak, reaching 99%. This shows that people are willing to pay these prices." The person in charge of the company also said that this will be the most profitable World Cup so far. Encouraged by strong ticket sales, Infantino has begun to float the idea of further expanding the tournament to 64 teams by 2030. He pointed out on July 10, "These are issues we will discuss after the World Cup." Kieran Maguire, associate professor of football finance at the University of Liverpool, said that if implemented, a 64-team World Cup would see nearly a third of qualifying countries take part, making the sport more inclusive.

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