FIFA expects its revenue to exceed $15 billion during the 2023–2026 commercial cycle after the expanded World Cup in North America delivered what the governing body has described as an unprecedented financial success.
The latest estimate is considerably higher than FIFA’s original revenue target of $11 billion. However, the money was not generated exclusively by the 2026 World Cup, as suggested in several social media posts.
The figure covers FIFA’s complete four-year cycle and includes income from broadcasting rights, sponsorship agreements, ticketing, hospitality and other competitions, including the expanded Club World Cup held in 2025.
It is also a revenue projection rather than a confirmed profit figure. FIFA has not yet published audited final accounts covering the completed 2023–2026 cycle.
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Infantino predicts revenue could pass $15 billion
According to FIFA’s official statement on the financial impact of the 2026 World Cup, president Gianni Infantino told representatives of the organisation’s member associations that its income could climb beyond the latest estimates.
“I think we can top the USD 15 billion mark,” Infantino said.
He made the comments in New York on July 18, one day before the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
The projection represents a dramatic increase from the $11 billion target FIFA initially established for the cycle. That earlier budget did not include the full commercial impact of the expanded Club World Cup, which added another major tournament to FIFA’s portfolio.
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The 2026 World Cup was nevertheless the central source of income. The competition grew from 32 to 48 teams and from 64 to 104 matches, creating substantially more television inventory, sponsorship exposure, hospitality packages and ticket sales.
“This FIFA World Cup here in particular has opened a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities, a lot of possibilities,” Infantino said.
Revenue is not the same as profit
Claims that the tournament officially became the most profitable World Cup in history should be treated with caution.
Revenue represents the total amount of money FIFA receives before its expenses are deducted. Profit can only be calculated after accounting for the cost of organising the competition, prize money, administration, development programmes and other expenditure.
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FIFA has therefore reported record expected revenue, but that does not automatically establish the 2026 tournament as the most profitable edition in history.
The governing body says a substantial part of its income is redistributed through football development. FIFA approved a record $727 million financial contribution connected to the 2026 World Cup, including $655 million in prize money for the 48 participating teams.
A 64-team World Cup remains under discussion
FIFA’s financial success has arrived as debate grows over another possible expansion of the men’s World Cup.
As Elizabeth Melimopoulos and Reuters reported for Al Jazeera, FIFA will examine a proposal to increase the 2030 tournament from 48 to 64 teams.
The idea was formally presented by CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez after first being raised by Uruguayan Football Association president Ignacio Alonso during a FIFA Council meeting in 2025.
FIFA has not approved the plan, and no date has been announced for a final decision.
“There are discussions about whether we should increase more (from 48) to 64 (teams), but this will be debated and this will be discussed,” Infantino said.
A 64-team format could feature 16 groups of four, with the top two countries in each group progressing to a 32-team knockout stage. Such a structure would probably produce 128 matches, 24 more than the 2026 tournament and twice the number played at each World Cup between 1998 and 2022.
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Commercial rewards form part of the debate
FIFA has publicly presented expansion as a way to give more countries an opportunity to compete on the sport’s largest stage.
Infantino has argued that smaller football nations need realistic qualification opportunities to maintain investment and interest in their national teams. He has also said that additional revenue is necessary to fund development projects around the world.
“We want to generate more revenues, and we have to generate more revenues, because in the vast majority of the world, in 80% of the world, if we don’t invest, if we don’t believe…nobody will,” Infantino said.
The commercial incentives are nevertheless impossible to ignore. More teams and matches would create additional broadcasting content, tickets, sponsorship inventory and hospitality income.
Opponents of the plan argue that another expansion could weaken the quality of the group stage, reduce the value of continental qualification and place further strain on players, clubs and host countries.
UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin has previously called the proposal “a bad idea,” while Asian Football Confederation president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has also rejected it.
The financial strength of the 2026 tournament may give supporters of expansion a more persuasive commercial argument. For now, however, the 2030 World Cup remains a 48-team competition, and any increase to 64 countries would require formal approval from the FIFA Council.
