Qatar World Cup in 6 numbers

The World Cup in 2022 will be among the most compact in history, taking place in the smallest host country ever. However, by almost every other metric, Qatar’s football spending spree will outperform all previous World Cups.

BusinessDay looks at the five significant numbers going into the competition.

$220 billion

The estimated cost of Qatar hosting the World Cup is $220 billion. It includes the construction of seven new soccer stadiums, a metro link connecting the stadiums, an airport, hospitals, hotels, and shopping malls. In comparison, Russia spent $11.6 billion to host the 2018 World Cup.

$17 billion

The estimated revenue increase for Qatar as a result of hosting the World Cup is $17 billion while FIFA’s revenue is expected to be $7 billion.

$15.51 billion

The overall value of the 32 participating countries in the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup is $15.51 billion (€15 billion), according to a report by the International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) Football Observatory.

Also, the report shows that England has the most valuable squad at the 2022 World Cup, with a total value of $1.55 billion (€1.499 billion) and Jude Bellingham of Dortmund, the most expensive player going into the tournament ($208.88 million).

$6.5 billion

The eight stadiums that will host the 64 matches played in the FIFA World Cup are worth $6.5 billion, according to the Qatari government.

According to Olympic.com, the venues are Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail, Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium, Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, and Stadium 974 and Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.

Al Bayt, Lusail, and Education City stadiums are the most expensive with $847 million, $767 million, and $700 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the construction cost of stadium 974 remains largely unknown.

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Earlier in the week, Gianni Infantino, President, FIFA, said that five billion people are expected to tune in for the World Cup this winter.

This projection will make for the biggest viewership in the history of the competition, as it was reported that 3.572 billion people watched the 2018 World Cup, which took place in Russia.

3 million

The number of World Cup tickets sold is 3 million. Qatar, the United States, Saudi Arabia, England, Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Argentina, France, Brazil, and Germany are the top ten ticket buyers by country.