Thursday, July 3, 2025
  • Login
CEO North America
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel
No Result
View All Result
CEO North America
No Result
View All Result

CEO North America > Opinion > For FIFA, the World Cup is Big Business

For FIFA, the World Cup is Big Business

in Opinion
For FIFA, the World Cup is Big Business
Share on LinkedinShare on WhatsApp

World soccer governing body FIFA poised to make a record-breaking $6 billion from the World Cup in Russia.

The 2018 World Cup, soccer’s premiere tournament, was tipped by many to be a disaster.

Scandal—graft allegations against FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, and doping charges levied at Russia, this year’s host country—left a stain on the World Cup that most expected would result in dampened enthusiasm from broadcasters, fans and advertisers alike.

Yet numbers show this could be the biggest World Cup in history. Whatever happens on the field ahead of the final on July 15, the business of the World Cup looks better than ever. Everything, from TV to online viewership, from licensing revenue to sponsorship cash, is on the upswing.

Internal FIFA documents, first reviewed by The New York Times, show the world soccer body is set to generate $6.1 billion in revenue from this tournament, $1.3 billion more than the last World Cup in Brazil in 2014 and fully 10 percent above FIFA’s own predictions.

While TV revenue was a little over 2 percent above FIFA’s target of $3 billion, sponsorship deals generated $1.65 billion, $200 million more than projected, largely due to deals with Chinese companies. In 2014, just one Chinese company sponsored the World Cup. This year, seven of the 20 official tournament sponsors are from China, led by property giant Wanda Group.

Their cash has more than compensated for the decline in Western support, as many U.S. and European companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Castrol and Continental, pulled back from FIFA amid the corruption investigation launched by the U.S. Justice Department in 2015, which alleges widespread bribery and vote buying in the selection of World Cup hosts, particularly the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The corruption scandal, and FIFA’s efforts to clean up its act, have cut into revenues at the organization, which reported profits of just over $100 million for the four-year cycle that ends after the tournament. Losses of some $997 million over the past three years are set against an estimated $1.1 billion profit for 2018.

When it comes to TV audiences, the 2018 World Cup looks set to break all-time records. Research company GlobalWebIndex has forecast total viewership of 3.4 billion, or nearly half the total world population of 7.6 billion, for the entire tournament. That compares to 3.2 billion who tuned in for the 2014 event in Brazil.

Brands will be taking advantage of audiences’ extra viewing time by filling it with commercial spots. Zenith estimates this year’s tournament will add $2.4 billion to the global ad spend, fully 10 percent of the total growth for the year. Unsurprisingly, China is forecast to see the biggest increase, with the World Cup generating $835 million in extra ad spend.

As far as social media, the last World Cup set several records. Eighty-eight million people worldwide engaged with the 2014 final match on Facebook, racking up 280 million Facebook interactions. (For comparison, this year’s Super Bowl drew 62 million people and 270 million interactions on Facebook.)

This year, mobile and online viewing is likely to be even greater. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are currently lit up, while China is in the midst of its own World Cup-driven social media storm on local services WeChat, Youku and Weibo. Advertisers in particular will be paying attention to online viewers, which skew younger and more upscale. Fully a quarter of World Cup fans aged 11-20 said they planned to watch the tournament via smartphone or tablet.

Tags: FIFA World CupRussia 2018World CupWorld Cup is Big Business

Related Posts

Blackstone’s Jon Gray on Strategic Discipline, AI, and Entrepreneurial Leadership
Opinion

Blackstone’s Jon Gray on Strategic Discipline, AI, and Entrepreneurial Leadership

Canada, India move closer to trade deal
Opinion

Informing Strategic Planning Amid Tariff Uncertainty for Canadian Municipalities

A paradigm shift in supply chain operations: From agent-led to AI-led
Opinion

A paradigm shift in supply chain operations: From agent-led to AI-led

6 steps toward your retirement goals
Opinion

6 steps toward your retirement goals

Dollar continues record rally
Opinion

U.S. Economic Confidence Slightly Improved, Still Negative

How U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs would impact Canada’s economy
Opinion

The impact of US trade policy on jobs and inflation in Canada

Key Takeaways From Treasury’s Foreign Exchange Report
Opinion

Key Takeaways From Treasury’s Foreign Exchange Report

CVCA CEO Kim Furlong to step down
Opinion

What I’ve learned about building winning businesses

Inspiring vs. Infuriating: The Science Behind Great Leadership
Opinion

Inspiring vs. Infuriating: The Science Behind Great Leadership

Want More Women in Leadership? Tell Them They’re Losing Out
Opinion

Want More Women in Leadership? Tell Them They’re Losing Out

No Result
View All Result

Recent Posts

  • Nasdaq’s New Survey Reveals: Next-Gen Investors Embrace Advanced Technology ETFs
  • Blackstone’s Jon Gray on Strategic Discipline, AI, and Entrepreneurial Leadership
  • Tesla stock rises as company reports steep sales decline
  • ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Medicaid cuts could leave millions uninsured
  • Del Monte Foods files for bankruptsy

Archives

Categories

  • Art & Culture
  • Business
  • CEO Interviews
  • CEO Life
  • Editor´s Choice
  • Entrepreneur
  • Environment
  • Food
  • Health
  • Highlights
  • Industry
  • Innovation
  • Issues
  • Management & Leadership
  • News
  • Opinion
  • PrimeZone
  • Printed Version
  • Technology
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

  • CONTACT
  • GENERAL ENQUIRIES
  • ADVERTISING
  • MEDIA KIT
  • DIRECTORY
  • TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Advertising –
advertising@ceo-na.com

110 Wall St.,
3rd Floor
New York, NY.
10005
USA
+1 212 432 5800

Avenida Chapultepec 480,
Floor 11
Mexico City
06700
MEXICO

  • News
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life

  • CONTACT
  • GENERAL ENQUIRIES
  • ADVERTISING
  • MEDIA KIT
  • DIRECTORY
  • TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Advertising –
advertising@ceo-na.com

110 Wall St.,
3rd Floor
New York, NY.
10005
USA
+1 212 432 5800

Avenida Chapultepec 480,
Floor 11
Mexico City
06700
MEXICO

CEO North America © 2024 - Sitemap

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Business
    • Entrepreneur
    • Industry
    • Innovation
    • Management & Leadership
  • CEO Interviews
  • Opinion
  • Technology
  • Environment
  • CEO Life
    • Art & Culture
    • Food
    • Health
    • Travel

© 2025 JNews - Premium WordPress news & magazine theme by Jegtheme.