SEE HOW MUCH THE QATAR 2022 WORLD CUP COSTED IN COMPARISON TO PREVIOUS HOSTS 

Did you know that the Qatar 2022 World Cup is one of the largest capital campaigns in human history as the country spent more than 15 times what Russia spent for the 2018 event?

The World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the history of football. The countries hosting the World Cup have always spent millions and even billions of dollars in order to improve the infrastructure and develop stadiums to suit a global and unique event like the World Cup and to present it to fans from around the world in the best possible way.

The cost of Qatar’s organization of the 2022 World Cup is estimated at more than $200 billion, to be the most expensive cost in the history of the World Cup, after Qatar has equipped an integrated infrastructure, including a network of roads and internal transportation, in addition to building 8 air-conditioned stadiums to host the World Cup matches.

Qatar’s minister of finance said in 2017 that the country was spending $500 million per week on infrastructure projects including roads, hotels, stadiums and airport upgrades to prepare the small Middle Eastern nation to host the world’s largest sporting event. With such spendibg, it will be, by far, the most expensive World Cup in history. 

Qatar is estimated to have spent as much as $220 billion in the dozen years since being chosen as a World Cup host in late 2010, more than 15 times what Russia spent for the 2018 event. And that also came with a price. The cost of the stadiums alone amounted to $6.5 billion, according to the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy in Qatar, while the specialized Deloitte Foundation stated in a report published in 2013 that Qatar has allocated $200 billion to be spent on building the infrastructure for hosting the World Cup, including $140 billion for infrastructure in the field of transportation, and $20 billion in the hotel sector.

In comparison, let's take a look at the World Cup hosting cost of various host countries from 1994 to 2018. However, note that the cost of organizing the World Cup varies from one country to another, according to its capabilities, infrastructure, and stadiums capable of hosting the World Cup.

UNITED STATES 1994 & FRANCE 1998

The cost of organizing the World Cup by the United States of America in 1994 was estimated at $340 million, which is the same value that it costs France to organize the 1998 World Cup because the two countries already have the infrastructure and stadiums capable of hosting this global event.

SOUTH KOREA & JAPAN 2002

The costs of hosting the World Cup in 2002 jumped to $5 billion, with the participation of South Korea and Japan in the organization, and the profits of the International Federation (FIFA) at that time amounted to $1.2 billion.

GERMANY 2006

When Germany hosted the 2006 World Cup, according to government data, about $6.2 billion was spent on infrastructure and stadiums, and FIFA’s revenues from the tournament rose to $3.2 billion.

SOUTH AFRICA 2010

It cost South Africa $3.65 billion to host the 2010 World Cup, which was confirmed by South African Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan at the time.

BRAZIL 2014

When Brazil hosted the 2014 World Cup, the cost rose to $13 billion, distributed between $8.6 billion only for infrastructure work and $2.4 billion for infrastructure, stadiums, and nearly $2 billion on security arrangements, and the profits of the International Federation amounted to $4.82 billion.

RUSSIA 2018

When Russia hosted the 2018 World Cup, the cost rose to more than $20 billion, according to the Russian agency “Interfax” at the time.

In addition, before the World Cup begins, take note of some of the following important dollar figures:

$42 million is the prize money awarded to the team that wins it all. FIFA allows each team to decide what share of the purse players receive.

$60 million: The reported annual value of Nike’s deal to sponsor the French Football Federation. Nike has deals of various sizes with 13 nations in the 32-team field, the most of any apparel brand. Seven teams will wear Adidas’ gear and six will wear Puma. New Balance, Hummel, Kappa, Majid, Marathon and One All Sports sponsor one nation each.

$209 million: The amount that soccer clubs around the world receive from a fund set aside by FIFA to reward them for developing players who play in the tournament for their national teams. The amount is approximately $10,000 per day per player. The fund has tripled since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

$277 million: The widely reported amount David Beckham was paid by Qatar to serve as an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup, paid out in installments over 10 years.

$440 million: The total prize pool for the 2022 World Cup, up from $400 million in 2018. By comparison, the 2019 Women’s World Cup prize pool was $30 million.

$1.7 billion: The costs covered by FIFA for this year’s World Cup, with the largest expenditures being prize money, operational expenses like hospitality and logistics ($322 million), and TV operations ($247 million).

$4.7 billion: FIFA’s expected revenue from the World Cup, according to its 2022 budget. TV broadcast rights account for $2.64 billion and marketing rights bring in another $1.35 billion, while ticket sales and hospitality rights add up to $500 million.

$6.5 billion to $10 billion: The range of estimates on how much Qatar spent to build seven soccer stadiums for this year’s World Cup. After the event, sections of the stadiums will be deconstructed and donated to other countries and the buildings repurposed into community space for schools, shops, cafes, sporting facilities and health clinics. One venue, Stadium 974, was built using recycled shipping containers and will be entirely dismantled and removed.

Sources:

https://www.siasat.com/heres-the-cost-of-hosting-the-world-cup-2461441/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattcraig/2022/11/19/the-money-behind-the-most-expensive-world-cup-in-history-qatar-2022-by-the-numbers/?sh=6786af86bff5