(OPGOV.NEWS GLOBAL) --- Beyond the stadium cheers, green fields, and colorful flags at the FIFA World Cup 2026 games here, a calculator continues to total the financial gains from the international games.
A June 15 report puts the total at $17 billion, according to Reporter Dylan Duke’s interview on National Public Radio. Out of the KERA news station in Dallas, Duke looked into nearly a dozen host states and cities.
Take, for example, flying to the England vs. Croatia game in Dallas. Dylan reports while “the city of Dallas projects a 1.5 to $2 billion economic boost or about $3.5 million in sales tax revenue,” he has a Texas professor chime in, noting, “He explained that projections from big sports events like the World Cup are generally exaggerated,” and “Dallas already has airports, highways, public transportation and entertainment districts to support the World Cup.”
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
Inc. reports differently, noting that the Dallas-Fort Worth region of Arlington has up to $25 million in extra cash, excluding food and retail costs. Inc. defers to the Boston Business Journal numbers, reporting up to 28% in bar and restaurant sales, and to a Los Angeles ABC affiliate, which cites $892 million more in revenue for the area.
Clark is not the only professor interested in America’s windfall from the World Cup games. North Carolina State University Professor Michael Edwards conducted a study on the economic impact and also reported exaggerated gains.
“Economic impact studies of the FIFA World Cup often exaggerate benefits by counting total spending while overlooking public costs and spending that would have happened without the event,” according to the study, which adds that FIFA sees the most financial gain in media rights, sponsorships and ticketing. “Host cities absorb major costs with limited direct revenue.”
Reuters Breaking Views confirms the same, reporting, “World Cup sponsorships, broadcast rights, and other official partnerships should generate about $13 billion.”
Edwards notes the blurred lines between World Cup spending and money that “might have been spent anyway through regular tourism, local entertainment or business travel.”
(Photo Credit: REUTERS/Bryan Snyder)
A FOX affiliate in Atlanta reports that financial fact.
“The arrival of the FIFA World Cup is creating a varied financial reality for Atlanta businesses, with some shops seeing record crowds while independent street vendors struggle,” according to FOX Atlanta.
While there is no exact figure for what the FIFA World Cup 2026 has brought into America’s coffers, the assumed range of millions to billions gives the U.S. a win even after its final loss to Belgium.
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