（有片）經湋論｜The Economic Perspectives of FIFA World Cup

香港文匯報訊 With Spain winning the World Cup over Argentina last week, many of us are relieved that football won. Well, the FIFA World Cup has always been much more than a football tournament. Every four years, it becomes the world's largest festival of sports, culture, commerce and diplomacy. The 2026 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, has elevated this phenomenon to an entirely new level.

With more participating teams, more matches, record-breaking television audiences and unprecedented commercial revenues, the tournament is estimated to have generated well over US$15 billion in FIFA revenues while contributing tens of billions of dollars in broader economic output across the three host nations. Some media reports have estimated the overall commercial value and economic gains to exceed RMB700 billion when direct and indirect effects are combined.

FIFA itself had budgeted nearly US$8.9 billion in tournament-related revenue before the event, while subsequent reports indicate that actual revenues significantly exceeded expectations, largely driven by hospitality, sponsorship and ticketing.

More importantly, the success of this tournament signals a profound transformation in the global sports economy. The World Cup is no longer merely a sporting competition - it has become a sophisticated economic ecosystem integrating tourism, media, technology, digital commerce, infrastructure investment and international branding.