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Who's Really Paying for This Year's World Cup? - Big Take
Jun 11, 2026 The Big Take (Audio)
The 2026 World Cup kicks off today in Mexico City. It’ll be the largest in FIFA’s history, spanning three host countries and 48 competing teams and is expected to generate between $11 and $13 billion.
But the tournament’s expansion comes at the expense of fans navigating a new dynamic pricing model and cities shouldering overhead costs. On today’s Big Take, host David Gura, Bloomberg’s Vanessa Perdomo and economist Andrew Zimbalist track who stands to profit the most from the people’s game.
The 2026 World Cup kicks off today in Mexico City. It’ll be the largest in FIFA’s history, spanning three host countries and 48 competing teams and is expected to generate between $11 and $13 billion.
But the tournament’s expansion comes at the expense of fans navigating a new dynamic pricing model and cities shouldering overhead costs. On today’s Big Take, host David Gura, Bloomberg’s Vanessa Perdomo and economist Andrew Zimbalist track who stands to profit the most from the people’s game.
Full transcript - At 10:54, it is pointed out that the World Cup is largely a money loser:
GURA: With the exception of Russia in 2018, every World Cup since 1964 has lost money.
ZIMBALIST: Economists who have done independent scholarship on this question have virtually with universal agreement found that hosting the World Cup games is is not a boon to the local economy either in the short run or the long run.
GURA: So I asked Bloomberg's Vanessa Perdomo why a country would do this.
PERDOMO: I think for this tournament and for other things like the LA Olympics that are coming up...the eyes of the world are on you, which is really enticing. But I think it's the idea of, especially under President Trump, using sports as a beacon of light and a unifying hope because it really is that and I think it's just a way to be perceived better by the public. Sports diplomacy.
ZIMBALIST: Economists who have done independent scholarship on this question have virtually with universal agreement found that hosting the World Cup games is is not a boon to the local economy either in the short run or the long run.
GURA: So I asked Bloomberg's Vanessa Perdomo why a country would do this.
PERDOMO: I think for this tournament and for other things like the LA Olympics that are coming up...the eyes of the world are on you, which is really enticing. But I think it's the idea of, especially under President Trump, using sports as a beacon of light and a unifying hope because it really is that and I think it's just a way to be perceived better by the public. Sports diplomacy.