For All the World to See
Rose Lavelle and the U.S. Women’s National Team soundly defeated Paraguay at TQL Stadium this week, adding to Cincinnati’s mythos as a soccer city.
Cincinnati is in the running to host the FIFA World Cup 2026. Take a look at the impact that would have on Greater Cincinnati, beyond the pitch. (HINT: It’s bigger than hosting the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl’s economic impact ranges from $300 million to $500 million.
$5 Billion
Total Economic Impact of
FIFA World Cup 2026
Hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup™ could generate more than $5 billion in short-term economic activity, including supporting approximately 40,000 jobs and more than $1 billion in incremental worker earnings across North America, according to a study done by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a leading global management consulting firm.
Canada, Mexico and the United States are hosting the 48-team tournament in 2026, which will be the largest in FIFA World Cup™ history. The overall net benefit to the region would be $3-$4 billion. The study further estimates that individual host cities could expect to see approximately $160-$620 million in incremental economic activity. That translates to a net benefit of approximately $90-$480 million per city after accounting for potential public costs.
1.1 billion
Global Media Exposure of FIFA World Cup
Audience Viewership of the Super Bowl: 98 million
According to FIFA, the last World Cup final between France and Croatia reached an average live audience of 517 million viewers, with more than 1.1 billion people tuning in over its 90 minutes. The 2019 Super Bowl pales in comparison, having had an average viewership of 98 million in the United States plus an estimated 50 to 65 million around the world.
by the Billions
Publicity/Increased Global Awareness of Cincinnati
Since Cincinnati was named as a Candidate Host City, there have been more than 1,100 news stories in print/online and broadcast resulting in more than 3.2 billion impressions and with earned media value of $37 million (or the total cost of buying space in these media outlets).
Boosting Long-term Tourism
Raising the Profile of Cincinnati
In 2018, Russia has hosted more than 700,000 foreign soccer fans during the World Cup tournament, spread over 11 cities including Moscow, St Petersburg and Sochi. Future tourism estimates that visitors to World Cup host cities in Russia may increase as much as 15 percent year over year.