‘Soccer Will Become The No 1 Sport In North America’

Back in the 70’s Clive Toye embarked on a singular mission to popularize soccer in the United States and his ultimate sales pitch was the arrival of Pele at the New York CosmosATOM
. It never quite worked out, and half a century later soccer remains a peripheral sport, but FIFA supremo Gianni Infantino believes that the 2026 World Cup will change the American sports landscape forever.

At a news conference on the eve of the World Cup final in Doha, he said: ‘We are bullish about the power of football. We are more than bullish. We are convinced that the impact of the game will be massive. Revenues will go up in terms of broadcasting, sponsorship, ticketing and hospitality.’

FIFA will close the current cycle with a revenue of $7.5 billion, a billion more than original projections, but an expanded 48-team World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada will be the ultimate money spinner for Zurich. The FIFA Council approved the 2023-2026 budget including a revenue of $11 billion – enabling a $9.7 billion payout, which FIFA says is an investment in the global game.

‘We are expecting 5 million, 5.5 million fans travelling,’ continued Infantino. ‘We are convinced that football will be booming in North America.’

It’s the second time that the US will host the world’s premium sporting event. In 1994, the World Cup was first played in New York and other American cities. If the football was often of a low quality with the goalless final between Italy and Brazil providing the perfect illustration, the tournament witnessed bumper crowds and new commercial opportunities for FIFA. It was also a launchpad for the Major League Soccer and the sport in general in the US, but progress ever since has been limited.

However, the 23^rd World Cup will be a game changer, according to Infantino – not even North America will resist the drama and emotion of the World Cup . Within soccer circles, there is already a firm desire to move on from the Qatar World Cup, a tournament that has invited a lot of criticism at the address of the world governing body as well as the host nation. The United States as well as Mexico and Canada should provide a stabler environment and above all the gigantic, projected revenues, music to the ears of the vast majority of the 211 FIFA member associations, will exceed anything FIFA has ever earned from its premier competition.

The current iteration, with all its drama spread across the group stage as well as the knockout phase, has however compelled FIFA to reconsider the structure of a 48-team format.

“I have to say that after this World Cup and the success of the groups of four, and looking as well at some other competitions like the Euros for example where you have 24 teams and the top two plus the best third ones go to the next stage,’ said Infantino.

“Here, the groups of four have been absolutely incredible in the sense that until the last minute of the last match, you wouldn’t know who goes through. We will have to revisit or at least rediscuss the format – whether we go for 16 groups of three or 12 groups of four. This is something that will certainly be on the agenda in the next meetings.”