The growing bonanza of the World Cup, key to the FIFA system

Earn more to distribute more, particularly outside Europewhere football money is still concentrated: that is the key to the system FIFAwhich also guarantees its president Gianni Infantinoin the process of being re-elected on Thursday at the Kigali Congress, a very broad political base.

Organized every four years since 1930 in the men’s category and since 1991 in the women’s category, the World Cup ensures the Zurich body the essentials of its income, calculated according to a four-year cycle, and which continues to increase.

Qatari success, despite the controversies

Even in the case of the 2019-2022 period, critical when the COVID-19 pandemic appeared, which stopped world sport for several months, and the World Cup in Qatar, accompanied since its award at the end of 2010 by multiple controversies: suspicions of corruption, environmental balance, rights of workers and LGBT people.

But neither the boycott threats nor the unusual schedule of the tournament (November 20-December 18, 2022, instead of June and July) prevented the FIFA closing its cycle with a new record, with revenues of 7.6 billion dollars, up 18% compared to the previous period, already marked by the commercial success of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

As for the organizational reserves, they grew to 3.9 billion dollars (+45% compared to the previous cycle), a sufficiently comfortable treasure to allow it to have made available 1.5 billion dollars of grants and loans linked to Covid for the federations.

World-2026 “of all records”

From now on, the instance expects to see its income climb to 11,000 million dollars in 2023-2026, that is, 44.7% more than in 2019-2022, thanks above all to a rise in television rights, rights marketing and ticketing.

Is it unrealistic, in a period where many organizations are struggling in the face of an increasingly competitive market for television rights and fear a lack of interest from the youngest in sports? Not necessarily, since the 2026 World Cup should be “the one with all the records”, estimates Raffaele Poli, an economist at CIES (International Center for the Study of Sport) in Neuchâtel (Switzerland).

Not only will the largest men’s tournament in the world be co-hosted between Mexico, Canada and the United States, promising vast packed stadiums, but it will also grow from 32 to 48 teams, attracting broadcasters and keeping an additional sixteen countries in suspense during the tournament.

Redistribution and electoral card

Like all sports organizations, FIFA retains a part of its income, mainly to organize its competitions and pay its 814 employees, including Gianni Infantino, who receives 3.6 million Swiss francs (3.9 million dollars). annual, including a variable part.

And a part also goes to the rest of the development programs, subsidizing its six confederations and its 211 national federations, without providing the sums: Caribbean islands such as Aruba or Barbados can thus receive as much or more than Germany or Brazil.

The organization reports having “multiplied by seven” their solidarity contributions over seven years, in particular through their program FIFA Forwardwhich entered its third cycle in January: between now and 2026, each member association will receive up to 5 million dollars to cover its operational costs, up to 3 million additional dollars for specific projects and, forto “those who are most in difficulty”1.2 million more for “travel and accommodation expenses of their national teams, as well as for the purchase of equipment”.

It is clear that these amounts are appreciated by the main soccer nations, but they are more essential, and even vital, for the great mass of more modest federations, maintaining a particular loyalty to FIFA, which overlaps with the electoral map of the organism: each association has one vote to elect the president, regardless of its importance.

Source: AFP