This World Cup, Bigger Can’t Be Better

The average visitor is expected to spend about $5,400 in the US – very high $720-$2,500 tourists in Qatar spent in 2022.

The route for this year’s races is very different from the one-city races in Qatar, or in Russia in 2018, which offer free public transport and an extra 500 trains to help people around.

This year, due to the long distance, the only option for fans and teams is flights, which airlines have increased to support those traveling in the World Cup.

“Teams and fans now have to focus on air travel, not just metro rides, but the carbon footprint and cost are real,” says Anagnostopoulos.

The need to book flights, rather than trains or taxis, can also reduce the number of hotels because travel costs are too high for some people. “U.S. hotels are already reporting less than expected,” says Anagnostopoulos. “Amount does not guarantee that people will come.”

Security

For organizers and impressive cities, the scale of the competition requires a large investment in security, including threats that would not have crossed the minds of previous hosts.

The US federal government has released $625 million in the contributions of host cities to address security challenges. On top of this, the Department of Homeland Security has allocated $200 million for countries to purchase anti-drone technology, highlighting the US State Department. actors are increasingly gaining access to drones and other skills.

In Canada, the authorities have given a total of $104 million to host the cities of Vancouver and Toronto. This brings total public funding in Canada and the US alone to about $1 billion – perhaps a fraction of the actual cost of competition.

The growth of competition, and the fact that it will cross borders, has made the price higher.

“Qatar 2022 benefited from a highly integrated, collaborative environment. The 2026 World Cup will bring together several cities, jurisdictions, institutions, and the technological environment of the United States, Canada, and Mexico,” said Leo Levit, chairman of Onvif, a membership organization focused on sustainability in the field of physical protection.

“The problem is not the number of systems involved, but whether these systems can exchange messages effectively,” he adds.

The future of the World Cup

These numbers tell the story of a race that is running below its ambitions. It is not yet known whether these funds will be paid based on the tickets purchased by the advertising agency. So why does FIFA want to grow at all costs?

According to Simon Chadwick, professor of sports and geopolitical economy at the International SKEMA Business School, the reason may be the growth of competition from other sports.

“What (FIFA president Gianni) Infantino is trying to do is to make sure that football remains strong, important, popular and that it does not start losing the market – to the NBA, which is in China, India, Africa, and the Gulf region; to the NFL, which is going to Europe; and Formula One, which has grown a lot, especially in North America, said Chadwick.