FIFA World Cup 2026: Why companies spend big on the tournament

The expanded 2026 FIFA World Cup, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across the United States, Canada and Mexico, is expected to deliver a significant economic boost. The tournament serves a combined host market of over 500 million people and is p...

Reuters

The 2026 World Cup is particularly attractive because it offered 48 participating nations, up from 32 and 104 matches, compared with 64 in 2022.

• A combined host market (United States, Canada and Mexico) with a population exceeding 500 million
• An estimated global television audience of over 5 billion cumulative viewers
• Massive social media engagement, with billions of video views and interactions

The longer tournament and larger audience create more advertising inventory and more opportunities for brand activation.

Other gains

• $990m direct spike in regional air transport and airport operations
• 24,000 full-time equivalent jobs expected to be created in co-host Canada alone
• 824,000 total full-time equivalent jobs supported globally
• 185,000 full-time jobs created in US alone

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