Is Fifa’s hyper-commercialised World Cup here to stay?

{"text":[[{"start":8.65,"text":"Football fans keen to take home a slice of Sunday’s World Cup final can buy a chunk of turf encased in acrylic and complete with a gold-etched match ticket and a cut crystal miniature trophy — available on Fifa’s online store for a price of $3,000. "}],[{"start":24.450000000000003,"text":"Almost 2,000 diehard supporters will also be able to buy new “championship rings”, a nod to a long-held US sport tradition of giving title winners commemorative jewellery, although prices have yet to be announced."}],[{"start":38.2,"text":"The latest premium merchandise from football’s governing body caps a five-week tournament in which the commercialisation of the world’s most watched sporting event — held across the US, Canada and Mexico — has been pushed into overdrive. "}],[{"start":52,"text":"But while Fifa’s innovations have largely been a financial success, some elements have angered fans. Tickets for Sunday’s final between Spain and Argentina started at $4,185, almost seven times higher than at the previous tournament in Qatar. The question now is whether 2026 will prove a one-off or set a new bar for future World Cups. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":75.25,"text":"“I don’t think we are going to see anything like it again in our lives. All the drivers that led to these very high revenues are very American,” said Ricardo Fort, a consultant who previously ran sponsorships at Visa and Coca-Cola. “I think that we will look back to this World Cup as an outlier.”"}],[{"start":92.95,"text":"In this year’s tournament Fifa embraced dynamic ticket pricing, expensive memorabilia and high-end hospitality, while introducing new elements, such as sponsored “hydration breaks” that gave broadcast partners more time to sell advertising. "}],[{"start":107.10000000000001,"text":"In an attempt to recreate the razzmatazz of the Super Bowl, America’s most loved sporting event, Sunday’s final will feature a half-time show headlined by Shakira, Madonna and K-pop band BTS. Controversially, it is set to break with footballing tradition by forcing a longer half-time stoppage than the 15 minutes that has been standard for more than a century. "}],[{"start":130.35000000000002,"text":"Fifa has justified these moves by pointing to local industry trends and the need to maximise the opportunity of hosting its showpiece event in the world’s largest economy. "}],[{"start":139.75000000000003,"text":"This hyper-commercial World Cup has delivered financially, with revenue from the four-year cycle projected to reach at least $13bn, up from $7.6bn at the previous edition. The final figure could be even higher. "}],[{"start":153.45000000000002,"text":"“The US has allowed Fifa to take a quantum step forward,” said Michael Payne, former commercial director at the International Olympic Committee. “But in future I don’t think there will be a major step backwards — a marker has been put down.”"}],[{"start":168.15,"text":"Much of the growth has come through ticketing and hospitality. As well as charging far higher prices for match tickets than at previous World Cups, Fifa launched its own resale platform and took a 15 per cent cut from both buyer and seller on every transaction, prompting outrage from fan groups and disquiet from regulators. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":188.6,"text":"At least three US states have launched investigations into whether the governing body’s ticketing broke local consumer protection laws. "}],[{"start":196.65,"text":"European law would probably make a repeat of some of Fifa’s ticketing practices at the next World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco impossible. Football Supporters Europe, an umbrella group representing fans, is part of a lobbying effort to have the rules tightened even further — such as outlawing dynamic pricing for live events — as part of the EU’s Digital Fairness Act. "}],[{"start":218.5,"text":"“I’m ready to bet on EU legislation that protects the consumer in order to get rid of some of the worst [Fifa policies] on ticketing,” said Ronan Evain, executive director of FSE. "}],[{"start":229.85,"text":"The impact of similar legislation was felt in Canada during the current World Cup. The province of Ontario bars the resale of tickets above face value — so tickets for games held in Toronto saw scant reselling compared with those in other host cities. "}],[{"start":245.29999999999998,"text":"Other aspects are likely to be different next time around. For example, European stadiums in the 2030 tournament will struggle to offer the same level of high-end hospitality as US venues, while Spain and Portugal bar fans from drinking alcohol in their seats. "}],[{"start":260.95,"text":"Fifa’s own projections show a drop in ticketing and hospitality income of close to $1bn in the 2030 cycle. "}],[{"start":268.7,"text":"But some of the tournament’s new additions, such as the three-minute hydration breaks, are expected to stay, especially as the importance of the US audience grows. TV network Fox paid $485mn for the US English-language rights to the tournament, and would have recouped more than half that figure from ad sales during hydration breaks alone, according to industry analysts."}],[{"start":290.9,"text":"US media rights for the next tournament are expected to receive far higher bids from broadcasters, making that additional advertising inventory a key part of the package. "}],[{"start":301.04999999999995,"text":"Sponsorship this year jumped compared with Qatar, partly thanks to Saudi Aramco’s arrival as Fifa’s biggest commercial partner ahead of the 2034 World Cup due to take place in Saudi Arabia. "}],[{"start":312.49999999999994,"text":"Fifa expects sponsor interest to grow further, despite some of the reputational blows during the 2026 World Cup. The governing body came under fire after it waived a one-match ban on a US player following complaints from the White House. Uefa, the European governing body, said the decision “crossed a red line”, while others warned that it raised serious concerns about Fifa’s political independence and credibility. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":337.29999999999995,"text":"Yet history shows that the World Cup’s unique position as the most popular sporting event on the planet has made it largely immune to any downturn in demand from companies looking to use the event as a marketing platform. "}],[{"start":350.74999999999994,"text":"Fort, the sponsorship consultant, said brands saw the World Cup and Fifa as “very different entities”, and pointed to the fact that even when the governing body was rocked by a major corruption scandal in 2015, the tournament’s commercial partners stayed. "}],[{"start":365.24999999999994,"text":"“I don’t think there’s anything you could do that would damage interest in the World Cup,” he said."}],[{"start":370.69999999999993,"text":"Overall Fifa estimates that even with a drop in ticketing and hospitality revenues the next cycle should generate $14bn thanks to further increases in sponsorship and media rights. Rather than a one-off, some see this year’s tournament as setting a new benchmark. "}],[{"start":387.29999999999995,"text":"“I think it’s only beginning,” said one senior advertising executive with ties to Fifa. “If you think the World Cup is too commercial now — stand by.”"}],[{"start":404.44999999999993,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1784459980_2348.mp3"}