FIFA achieved approximately US$ 1.74 billion in sponsorship revenues over the four years of preparation for the 2022 World Cup. 1.66 billion from the sale of sponsorship rights for the 2018 Russian Cup.
The information is part of a Sport Business report. One of the sectors that helped drive this rise in values was the sports betting market. Thus, the institution recorded an increase in revenue from US$ 363 million (Russia 2018) to US$ 545 million (Qatar 2022).
In FIFA’s partner modality, which allows exploitation rights for men’s, women’s and eSports championships, there was little news. Qatar Airways was announced in the last cycle, in 2017. In the current four-year period, amounts from this group of supporters totaled US$ 1.05 billion.
Historic agreement with betting company
The growth of the sports betting market from the last World Cup to the World Cup in Qatar was impressive. In the United States, the segment has been increasing since the Supreme Court ended federal restrictions on gambling in May 2018.
During the Qatar Cup cycle, FIFA signed an agreement with the Greek company Betano, which also has relevant partnerships in Brazilian football with Atlético Mineiro and Fluminense, for example.
The betting brand has become a regional supporter for Europe. Betano ended up making history for being the first betting operator to close a sponsorship contract with the highest football institution on the planet.
Fifa regional partners
FIFA achieved a significant increase in investors, especially in the category of regional supporters. In this group there was an increase of US$ 125 million in revenues. But, the institution suffered from a problem related to the blockchain company Algorand, which had signed a regional supporter contract for Europe and the USA for the 2022 World Cup.
Algorand said it preferred to focus on the technical development of its cooperation with FIFA. In September, the group released non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in packages that, once opened, reveal memorable World Cup moves. Each video is chosen at random and the idea is that they work like the stickers on the World Cup album.
Projections
At its 2020 Congress, FIFA projected US$6.44 billion in revenues for the 2019-2022 cycle. That estimate includes revenues from broadcasting rights of approximately US$3.3 billion.
The intention is to surpass the mark of US$ 1.77 billion with sponsorships. Next come licensing rights ($603 million) and hospitality and ticketing rights ($508 million). Recently, FIFA presented more optimistic numbers, with the objective of raising US$ 7.5 billion.
As sponsorship revenues are not expected to exceed the current US$1.74 billion, FIFA would need to raise revenues to US$5.76 billion in the other three remaining revenue streams (TV rights, licensing and hospitality and ticket sales).
In the 2015-2018 cycle, FIFA accounted for US$ 712 million in hospitality and tickets, US$ 600 million in miscellaneous licensing and US$ 322 million in other revenues, which include gains generated by the Club World Cup and from the sale of rights to images for films and documentaries.
At the beginning of the year, according to a FIFA report, the entity accounted for US$ 320 million with other revenues in 2021 alone. The amount involves US$ 60 million released by the US Department of Justice as compensation for corruption practiced by former leaders of the entity.
Another US$ 260 million came from sources such as the Club World Cup, played in Qatar earlier this year, when Palmeiras were beaten by Chelsea in the final. This amount includes fines for contract terminations, gains from property sales, revenue from the FIFA Museum, revenue from the sale of archival images and video rights.
The licensing added an additional $180 million to FIFA’s coffers due to an expanded product licensing program for the Qatar World Cup and increased online sales.
