When you have a global sports event which only happens once every four years, the amount of hype and excitement generated can reach unfathomable proportions. This will certainly be the case for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the jewel in the crown for international football, set to be watched by more than two-thirds of the global population. This also presents us with some fascinating numbers, associated with the business side of the tournament.
The Cost of Getting to Games
This will be the first time a country in the Middle East has hosted the World Cup, therefore Qatar has invested heavily, eager put on a truly global spectacle and create a lasting legacy. Over 1.6 million travellers are expected in the tiny Persian Gulf peninsula, which means that accommodation will be at an absolute premium, before even calculating the costs of getting there.
In a recent report by Forbes, travel experts looked at how much fans can expect to pay, when overseas visitors begin totting up the costs of attending the 2022 World Cup. Starting with match tickets, prices range between $70 and $200 for group games, then anywhere from $600 to $1,600 for knockout phase games. Many games are already sold out, increasing the likelihood of black market sales, usually at astronomical prices.
Insofar as travelling to Qatar is concerned and from outside the region, one agency estimated that flights would cost around $1,600 per person on average, with a further $1,000 for accommodation, plus $600 on car rental and upwards of $600 on food and drink. Indeed, it is believed that a 10-day trip, without seeing the whole of the World Cup tournament, would cost in excess of $3,000 per person, based upon the cheapest options available.
Peak Betting Interest
The international gaming industry is preparing for a massive windfall during the 2022 World Cup, as punters around the globe wager on a variety of markets available for the tournament, including which team will emerge as the outright winners. When the 2018 World Cup was held in Russia, FIFA estimated that around $135.3 billion was bet during the tournament, based on worldwide reporting. That figure could easily be doubled in 2022.
But given the huge popularity of online gambling, and with football being the number one international sport, this is also a highly competitive industry. All the leading companies are offering a variety of promotions, while oddsmakers are also aiming to provide bettors with enticing value. With so much choice around, finding the right online betting sites to suit our own preferences can be quite challenging.
According to the latest guide produced by SBO experts, punters are advised to seek honest and reliable site reviews, featuring unbiased and comprehensive appraisals of what each betting company can offer. That information can then be used wisely to form our own opinions and thus, help with making educated choices before deciding where to wager. Due to the World Cup, this November and December could be the biggest months in sports betting history.
Bumper Broadcast Revenues
The 2022 FIFA World Cup is expected to establish new precedents and, just as importantly, smash all previous records for viewership. More than 140 countries and territories have bought TV or online streaming rights, from which FIFA has predicted they could generate more than $6.5 billion in direct revenue. This is before calculating any associated revenues, from other activities including merchandising and sponsorship.
Looking at published comparisons for World Cup TV revenues, dating back to the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, the value of broadcasting rights have quadrupled over the last two decades. This has undoubtedly been aided by greater ease of access for viewers, particularly via online streaming and other digital platforms, aside from traditional terrestrial TV broadcasting.
Earlier this year, FIFA president Gianni Infantino predicted that during the 2022 World Cup, more than 5 billion people will watch live games, largely due to broadcasts being more widely available than ever before. As mentioned at the top of this article, that’s over two-thirds of the total world population, glued to their screens throughout the event, underlining the incredible power and reach that football enjoys.
