• The world will finally got to see the results of one of the biggest capital campaigns in human history on Sunday night
• Qatar took the field against Ecuador in the opening game of the 2022 World Cup
• It happened in the mid-morning for American viewers

In order to get the small Middle Eastern country ready to host the biggest athletic event in history, Qatar’s minister of finance claimed in 2017 that the country was spending $500 million each week on infrastructure projects, including improvements to roads, hotels, stadiums, and airports. The cost of the World Cup will be by far the highest in history. In the twelve years since being selected to host the World Cup in late 2010, Qatar is thought to have spent up to $220 billion, which is more than 15 times what Russia spent on the 2018 tournament.

Due to the hundreds, possibly even thousands, of workers—many of them foreigners—who lost their lives while labouring in hazardous conditions for meagre pay to keep the large projects moving forward, the nation has come under increasing criticism.

It is still unknown whether the “bold risk” Qatar urged FIFA to take by granting the country the right to host will be profitable for the body or the host nation. Sepp Blatter, a former FIFA president, stated last week that it was “a poor idea” to allow Qatar to host.
According to Blatter, the nation is “too small.” Tamedia is a group of Swiss newspapers. The World Cup and football are too huge for that.

Any potential dispute won’t have much of an impact on the significant sums of money that are being sponsored, bet on, invested, or earned over the 29-day global phenomenon. The most significant dollar amounts before the World Cup start are as follows:

$100 bet on the United States winning the World Cup would return $13,000 to the bettor. In order to win their group, the USMNT must finish ahead of England, Wales, and Iran at +500, or 5-to-1 odds.

The winning team will receive a prize of $42 million. FIFA lets each team choose how much of the player’s earnings goes to the team.

The reported annual cost of Nike’s sponsorship agreement with the French Football Federation is $60 million. In the 32-team field, Nike has agreements of various sizes with 13 nations, which is more than any other clothing company. Puma will be worn by six clubs while Adidas will be worn by seven. Each country is sponsored by New Balance, Hummel, Kappa, Majid, Marathon, and One All Sports.

The highest-paid player, Kylian Mbappé of France, will earn $128 million this year thanks to his deal with Paris Saint-Germain, which will pay him $110 million on the field and an additional $18 million off it. Depending on how France performs in the competition, he might also receive a little bonus.

Soccer clubs all over the world earn $209 million from a fund set up by FIFA as compensation for producing players that compete in the event for their national teams. Each player will receive about $10,000 every day. Since Brazil’s 2014 World Cup, the fund has increased by thrice.
$277 million: The widely reported sum that Qatar paid David Beckham in payments over a ten-year period to serve as an ambassador for the 2022 World Cup.

The overall prize fund for the 2022 World Cup will be $440 million, up from $400 million in 2018. In contrast, the prize fund for the 2019 Women’s World Cup was $30 million.

The total amount paid by FIFA for this year’s World Cup was $1.7 billion, with prize money, operational costs including hospitality and logistics ($322 million), and TV operations ($247 million) accounting for the majority of the costs.

The American Gaming Association estimates that $1.8 billion will be wagered on this year’s World Cup in only the United States. It’s anticipated that more than 20 million Americans will gamble on the game.

According to FIFA’s 2022 budget, the World Cup is predicted to bring in $4.7 billion. The value of TV broadcast rights is $2.64 billion, marketing rights are at $1.35 billion, and the value of ticket sales and hospitality rights is $500 million.

The range of estimates for how much Qatar spent to construct seven soccer stadiums for the 2018 World Cup is $6.5 billion to $10 billion. After the event, the stadiums’ components will be disassembled, donated to other nations, and the structures will be used as communal spaces for clinics, schools, businesses, and cafes. One facility, Stadium 974, which was constructed using repurposed shipping containers, will be completely disassembled and demolished.

The Moscow Times estimates that Russia will spend $14.2 billion to host the 2018 World Cup. The three largest line items were stadium building ($3.45 billion), transportation infrastructure ($6.11 billion), and lodging ($680 million).

An estimated $220 billion was spent by Qatar on World Cup preparations over the previous ten years. Although the figure has never been officially confirmed, Qatar’s minister of finance claimed in 2017 that the nation was investing $500 million every week on capital projects.

[embedpost slug=”fifa-world-cup-2022-qatar-england-vs-wales-full-highlights/”]