Behind the scenes of the upcoming Mundial, the fight for funding is unfolding // Photo: gettyimages.com
According to Politico, the amount of money needed to cover the logistics and entertainment costs of the tournament reaches $1.65 billion – $150 million for each city. FIFA, for whom the World Cup is a major source of revenue, is limiting local organizers from raising all the necessary funds. According to the mayor of Santa Clara (California) Lisa Gillmor, the incoming funds are not enough to cover all the expenses that have fallen on the city budget.
Earlier, the U.S. Congress allocated $625 million to ensure security in all 11 cities of the country, which will host the World Cup. The White House has made it clear to local authorities that it does not intend to put additional costs into the federal budget. “Taxpayers can’t pay for everything. There are other important things that the Donald Trump administration puts on the list of its priorities,” stressed the head of the working group for the organization of the World Cup at the White House, the son of the former mayor of New York Andrew Giuliani.
Due to financial difficulties experienced by local authorities, some host cities have begun to refuse to hold some events, such as the fan festival. Fan zones for joint viewing of matches will be organized in less than 50% of American cities, while the authorities of three cities in Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara) and two in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver) have committed to installing and arranging such venues.
Expenditures for fan festivals can reach $1 million per day, which is about a quarter of all local committee expenditures. Fan festivals have been a FIFA initiative since 2006, the first time they were held in German cities that hosted the Mundial. “FIFA wants all local authorities to run fan festivals, and that’s great. But the problem is that they don’t allow you to make money from these events. There are a lot of risks and a very vague reward system,” explained Alan Rothenberg, who chaired the committee that organized the 1994 World Cup, first held in the United States.
Local organizing committees in at least two U.S. cities privately asked FIFA to provide the funding needed to provide recreational activities for fans. The measure was a forced one, given the local committees’ attitude toward the world organization. “I know FIFA can be predatory. This kind of attitude from the organization has been a constant problem for us and has caused complaints among committee members,” a California state legislator, who insisted on anonymity, told Politico.
FIFA officials assure that local organizers received all the necessary information from the organization on financing the championship. “They knew what they were getting into. Our headquarters in Miami was in close coordination with the local committees from the beginning. It’s a partnership and we have no interest in them failing. We are working with the city to find new opportunities to make the organization of the tournament financially viable for all participants, and our team is doing that every day,” parried a FIFA headquarters representative in the United States, who preferred to remain unnamed.
FIFA expects the upcoming championship to generate the highest revenues in the history of the tournament. It is expected to reach the $10 billion mark. By comparison, the 2014 World Cup in Brazil added $4.8 billion to FIFA’s budget, the 2014 World Cup in Russia added $5.3 billion four years later, and last year’s Mundial in Qatar added about $7 billion.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup matches will be held in 16 cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada. For the first time, 48 national teams will take part in the tournament.
