1. 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP
By the Numbers

2. 21
The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia is the 21st edition of the single biggest tournament for the single biggest sport on the planet, and the first to be held in Eastern Europe.

3. 3.4 billion
When it comes to TV audiences, the 2018 World Cup was predicted to become the most-watched tournament in history. Research company GlobalWebIndex was forecasting total viewership of 3.4 billion, or nearly half the total world population of 7.6 billion, for the entire tournament.

4. 393 million
It took just one week for the 2018 World Cup to break the streaming viewership record set by the 2014 World Cup. In the first week of the tournament, 393 million plays of matches were successfully streamed, the equivalent of 6.9 billion viewing minutes, via 59 million unique video streaming apps. 

5. 7.5 billion
FIFA announced that Russia 2018 was the most engaged FIFA World Cup in history. Record-breaking interest from fans online resulted in over 7.5 billion engagements across FIFA digital platforms during the World Cup. The tournament also generated 1.25 billion video views and over 580 million interactions on FIFA social media platforms.

6. How many fans watched Team USA compete in this year’s World Cup? Zero. The U.S. failed to qualify for the tournament for the first time since 1986, disappointing not only American soccer fans but Fox Sports who invested heavily in broadcast rights to the 2018 World Cup.

7. $425 million
Fox agreed to pay $425 million for the rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, while Telemundo, owned by Comcast/NBC, will pay about $600 million to broadcast both events. The agreements also give Fox and Telemundo the rights to the 2015 and 2019 Women’s World Cups and other international tournaments.

8. $3 billion
Fox and Telemundo weren’t the only broadcasters paying big bucks for television rights. Overall, FIFA generated slightly more than $3 billion globally in tv revenue for the 2018 tournament.

9. 48
FIFA is planning to expand the World Cup from 32 teams currently to 48 for the 2026 event. More matches means more advertising sales for broadcasters and more ticket sales, sponsorship and merchandise revenue opportunities for the organization.

10. $1.1 billion
Overall, FIFA has projected a $1.1 billion profit for the 2018 World Cup. By the end of the year, the organization is forecast to have some $1.7 billion in cash and assets.

11. 30
The lack of representation from Team USA ultimately hurt Fox from a ratings perspective. Through the round of sixteen, ratings were down 19% compared to the 2014 World Cup and ratings for the 2018 Final dropped a whopping 30%.

12. 115 billion
2018 World Cup tweets were viewed 115 billion times while the Fox Sports-produced FIFA World Cup Now show (appearing exclusively on Twitter) netted 7.1 million video views over the course of the tournament

13. 19
The tournament’s breakout star was France’s Kylian Mbappé, who is just 19 years old. The fourth goal he scored in the tournament against Croatia was the most-tweeted moment of the entire World Cup, while the most-mentioned player was Brazilian star, Neymar, Jr.

14. $11 billion
The 2018 World Cup host country, Russia, spent roughly $11 billion on preparations for the event (stadiums, transportation, etc.) beginning in 2013 when they won the rights to host the month-long tournament.

15. $369 million
Brazil, host country for the 2014 World Cup, lost a reported $369 million, despite having sold out of sponsorship inventory more than six months before the tournament began.

16. $31 billion
While a net profit or loss for hosting the games has not been reported, Russian officials suggested prior to the World Cup that the tournament could have a total impact on the Russian economy of nearly $31 billion

17. $11 billion
Organizers of the bid to bring soccer’s World Cup to North America in 2026 offered a promise of an $11 billion profit for FIFA, a figure that would nearly double the profit of any previous tournament.

18. $1.65 billion
How important is sponsorship to the financial success of the World Cup? Of the $6.1 billion in revenue generated at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, $1.65 came from sponsorship.

19. 10 million
Adidas is the official provider of World Cup apparel and the official soccer ball of the tournament. The brand expected to set a record in apparel sales and will sell more than 10 million official tournament balls.

20. 56
Adidas’ 2018 World Cup marketing campaign, called "Creativity Is the Answer," featured 56 athletes (or "creators," as the campaign calls them) including Lionel Messi, Caroline Wozniacki, Aaron Judge and Justin Turner.

21. 7
Adidas isn’t the only brand to sponsor the 2018 World Cup. Seven different Chinese brands will have a major sponsorship presence at this year’s tournament, despite the Chinese National Team not qualifying.

22. 2050
China’s President has ambitious plans for the country’s approach to soccer. He is on record as vowing to turn the country into a soccer “superpower”, with plans to host, qualify and win the World Cup by 2050.

23. 200
Coca-Cola is a long-time sponsor of the World Cup, spending millions every four years to connect with soccer fans. This year, the brand launched a campaign that will ran in 200 different countries.

24. 45%
According to VISA, the Official Payment Services Partner of FIFA, contactless payments accounted for 45% of all Visa purchases at the 2018 World Cup in the 11 host cities.

25. 10,000
MasterCard, who is not an official partner of FIFA, attempted to “ambush” the 2018 World Cup when they launched a ‘Goals for Meals’ campaign in which they donated 10,000 meals to hungry Latin American and Caribbean children for every goal scored by Argentina’s Lionel Messi or Brazil’s Neymar. The campaign was widely criticized and was considered by some to be a marketing flop.

26. $100 million
Nike (NOT a World Cup sponsor) shelled out about $100 million to sponsor the French national team and the English team. Nike’s big bet panned out as both teams made it through to the semi-finals with France winning it all, generating millions of dollars worth of exposure for the brand.

27. 3
Of the top five highest-paid athletes in the World, three are international soccer stars (Lionel Messi earned $111 million last year, Cristiano Ronaldo earned $108 million, Neymar earned $90 million)

28. $105
Tickets for the World Cup matches were divided into four price categories, one of which was reserved specifically for Russian citizens. The least expensive tickets for non-Russia residents (foreign fans) for a World Cup match started at $105.

29. $100,000
Face value for the most expensive seats for the final match (championship game) for the 2018 FIFA World Cup is $1,100 per ticket. According to goal.com, some “category one” seats for the Final between France and Croatia sold for more than $100,000 each on the secondary market.

30. 16%
Overall, the cheapest face value tickets for the World Cup in Russia were 16% more expensive than the cheapest face value tickets for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

31. 2.4 million
FIFA said 2.4 million tickets had been sold prior to the tournament. Despite their teams absence from the tournament, soccer fans from the United States and China bought the most visitor World Cup tickets (Russian fans purchased the most overall).

32. $400 million
FIFA will pay out $400 million in prize money to the 32 teams competing in the 2018 World Cup. The winner and runner-up will receive $38 million and $28 million respectively.

33. 2018 FIFA WORLD CUP
Discussion Questions

34. Discussion Questions What is sponsorship?
Why would a Chinese brand sponsor the 2018 World Cup even if the Chinese National Team failed to qualify for the tournament? What about a U.S. brand?
Can you identify any other World Cup sponsors? What do you think they hope to accomplish with their sponsorship?

35. Discussion Questions
What are broadcast rights? Why would Fox Sports invest $425 million in the rights to broadcast the World Cup? Why might they be disappointed that the U.S. failed to qualify?
Why do some countries want to host events like the World Cup? What is the risk? What is the reward?

36. Discussion Questions
Have you ever heard of any of the star players competing in this year’s World Cup (Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar)? How about breakout stars like Mbappe or England’s Harry Kane? Why do you think they make so much money?
Why are tickets for the World Cup so expensive? Why are ticket sales important to event organizers?

37. Discussion Questions
Did you watch any World Cup matches? Would you have been more interested if the United States had qualified?
If you did watch, how did you tune in? Television? Mobile device? With friends or family? Why might sports marketers be interested in your answers?

38. Sources

39. Sources