FIFA World Cup Brand Worth More Than Ever

FIFA president, Gianni Infantino, announced that the World Cup 2026 will be expanded from 32 competing nations to 48. FIFA projects that increasing the tournament to 48 countries would result in an additional 1 billion U.S. dollar income, and 640 million U.S. dollar profit from television rights and sponsorship.

"FIFA and UEFA are responsible, they need a sense of proportion and have to find the right balance between commercial interests and a sporting perspective," warned Joachim Löw, coach of the German national team, ahead of the change.

Data published by Forbes, shows that the FIFA World Cup has increased in brand value to 229 million U.S. dollars in 2015. The brand value indicates the potential revenue from media, sponsorship, tickets and licensed merchandise per event day.