Doha – Al Sharq website
The Swiss Gianni Infantino, President of the International Football Association (FIFA), said that the economic returns from organizing the World Cup, which will be hosted by Qatar this year, exceeded expectations, recording about $7 billion and $600 million, which is the largest revenue in the history of FIFA.
He continued, in statements to Al-Jazeera, “The Qataris completed the stadiums and facilities a year ahead of schedule, and this is a unique achievement. I have participated in organizing these events for more than 20 years, and I know what I’m talking about. As for the economic part of the World Cup and the returns, it exceeded expectations.” We were aiming to achieve $7 billion, but it exceeded this rate by about 600 million. After the pandemic, people want to meet again and celebrate the World Cup, which is being held for the first time in the Gulf and in the Arab world.”
Infantino added that “FIFA” is not a profit organization and that it reinvests all its proceeds in support of the football game and raises its level. He also indicated that the governance of FIFA policies helped increase returns and reduce costs.
“We remember the crisis that (FIFA) went through a few years ago and then we put in place policies to strengthen FIFA and make it strong, and all this helped us not only increase revenues but also reduce the costs of the World Cup and the costs of FIFA running tournaments, FIFA will have the potential to invest $2.5 billion,” he said. In developing football around the world, this is 7 times more than what was happening 6 years ago when I joined FIFA.”
