Fifa reports $15bn from 2026 World Cup as ticket and hospitality income soars

Fifa announced it generated $15bn in revenue from the 2026 World Cup staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico, saying the total exceeded its own projections and was still rising toward a final tally.

Fifa said about $5bn of that figure came from ticket sales and hospitality, according to reporting cited by the Times, compared with $929m in direct matchgoing income at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The expanded 2026 tournament added 40 games, lifting average revenue per match from about $14.5m to roughly $48m, and Fifa told the Athletic that attendance reached 6.8 million, exceeding the previous record from the 1994 World Cup.

Revenue strategies implemented for 2026 included exposing ticket sales and parking to dynamic pricing and annexing the secondary ticket market, with Fifa capturing a share of resales, measures the article says produced substantial income but pushed prices beyond the reach of an average fan.

The event featured extensive entertainment and operational changes: performers and participants named in the coverage included Robbie Williams, Madonna, BTS, Shakira, Justin Bieber, Ted Lasso and the Muppets in the final half-time show and a pre-final appearance by Tom Cruise; organisers also imposed mandatory hydration breaks, suspended red cards at times and ran a 27-minute half-time show that the article says contravened Fifa’s own rules.

The coverage states Fifa tolerated controversial dealings with the Trump administration, noting accusations such as the treatment of the Iranian team, public comments about potential ICE action around stadiums and the denial of visas to fans and journalists, while concluding that any PR damage did not translate into lost revenue for the governing body.

The piece reports Gianni Infantino attempted to sell a portion of the World Cup’s commercial rights to private equity, an initiative described as ‘‘a bridge too far’’, but says the tournament’s profits appear to have strengthened his position and left many of his supporters unmoved.

The article argues those profits mean larger payouts to Fifa’s 211 member associations, each holding a presidential-election vote, and contends that flow of money helps explain why meaningful reform of Fifa is unlikely until that revenue stream is curtailed; Infantino still faces an election in March.