The outlook
Houston was selected as a host city for the FIFA World Cup in 2024, and as residents and soccer fans wait to hear more about the upcoming tournament, the Greater Houston Partnership held a panel of four individuals involved in the World Cup process to answer questions about the upcoming national event.
One of the questions asked by moderator Ryan Walsh, president of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, was how Houston could expect to benefit economically from the World Cup.
“We’ve been using $1.5 billion as the placeholder, but new data and new information are coming to us, and we will be revising and refreshing our economic impact study,” Canetti said. “It won’t be until December that we know what actual teams will play in these seven matches. Depending on what teams come to Houston, that will drive the economic factor as well.”
The last FIFA World Cup was held in Qatar in 2022, and according to Inside FIFA, the tournament garnered 5 billion fans across all media, including TV, digital platforms, social media and FIFA streaming sites.
The most watched match was between France and Argentina in the finals with 1.42 billion digital viewers and 88,966 spectators packed inside Lusail Stadium.
The following top four matches included both semi-final and quarter-final matches with teams such as Argentina, France, Morocco, Croatia, Portugal and Brazil.
Outside of the FIFA World Cup, the Liverpool Football Club was dubbed the most watched club in the Premier League for the 2023-24 season. According to independent data from Nielsen, a global solutions company, the club garnered a cumulative audience of 471 million people for all 38 league games.
Liverpool is a part of the English Premier League, which is the most-watched league in the world, according to a study conducted by Chiliz, a provider for sports and entertainment.
Other notable teams known for their success and global viewership include:
- Real Madrid
- FC Barcelona
- Manchester United
- Bayern Munich
- Paris Saint-Germain
- Chelsea FC
In comparison
Canetti said a post-report on the economic impact of the 2017 Super Bowl showed Houston gained $347 million from the one-day event.
“That was one game on a Sunday with about a week's worth of events leading up to it,” Canetti said. “As Leah said, we are hosting seven Super Bowls in 20 days. So, it’s easy to imagine how we get to $1.5 billion and more when you look at it that way.”
Aside from the seven matches hosted between June 14 and July 4, Canetti said the ancillary event known as FIFA Fan Festival will take place across 39 days from June 11 to July 19 in East Downtown.
According to FIFA, the fan festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha, Qatar, in 2022 saw nearly 2 million fans across the entire tournament.
