FIFA to expand global investment after successful World Cup 2026
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced plans to expand investment in global football following the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
Speaking to representatives of FIFA’s member associations at a meeting in New York on the eve of the tournament final, Infantino said the event had created new “opportunities that we don’t use today” for investment in the game. He added that he aimed to “unleash the commercial potential and opportunity that FIFA has” to support football development worldwide.
FIFA operates as a non‑profit organisation, redirecting revenues from its major tournaments back into the sport across its 211 member associations, with the men’s World Cup the primary source of funding. Infantino said total revenues for the 2023-2026 cycle were expected to exceed $15 billion, saying, “I think we can top the $15 billion mark,” which would give the organisation unprecedented resources to distribute globally.
Addressing delegates, Infantino stressed the importance of the financial returns. “This FIFA World Cup here in particular has opened a lot of doors, a lot of opportunities, a lot of possibilities,” he said. “This will have an impact on what we can do all over the world, but the revenues and the financial economic success come only if the sporting side is right. If we do the right thing from a sporting point of view.”
He emphasised that the World Cup must remain the focal point of the global game. “When we see the success of this FIFA World Cup, we need to really be aware of the fact that the FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of football in the world, and that everyone in football, big or small, depends on the success of the FIFA World Cup. We need to be very, very careful and always put the FIFA World Cup at the centre of everything we do in football. Everything else has to come after that and with that together,” he said.
Infantino also confirmed that more than 200 member associations had pledged support for his forthcoming re‑election and underlined FIFA’s democratic processes on future expansion. “When we speak about calendars, about when and how to organise events, we need to care about all of you. FIFA is a democracy. The members have to decide, and you will decide what you think is right for the future. There are discussions about whether we should increase from 48 to 64 teams, but this will be debated, and this will be discussed,” he said.
The financial success of the World Cup directly affects the FIFA Forward initiative, which funds international development projects. Funding for the 2027–2030 cycle is projected to reach a record $2.7 billion, an eightfold increase since the initiative began a decade ago. Over Infantino’s tenure, total development investment across member countries has reached $5.1 billion.
Looking ahead to future events, including the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 in Brazil, revised Under‑20 and Under‑17 competitions, and the introduction of a FIFA Under‑15 World Cup and festival, Infantino stressed the need to generate revenue for developing football nations where funding remains scarce.
“We want to generate more revenues, and we have to generate more revenues, because in the vast majority of the world, in 80% of the world, if we don’t invest, if we don’t believe, nobody will,” he said. “If not, the concentration will always go to a few big countries, and we will remain as we are.”
