The Most Profitable World Cup in History

The 2026 World Cup kicks off today in Mexico City. It’ll be the largest in FIFA’s history, spanning three host countries and 48 competing teams and is expected to generate between $11 and $13 billion. But the tournament’s expansion comes at the expense of fans navigating a new dynamic pricing model and cities shouldering overhead costs. On today’s Big Take, host David Gura, Bloomberg’s Vanessa Perdomo and economist Andrew Zimbalist track who stands to profit the most from the people’s game. Read more: The Hidden Cost of the Most Expensive World Cup Ever Listen more: The "Americanization" of the World Cup - The Deal with Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly We have a special Bloomberg subscription offer for podcast listeners at Bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. Hosted by David Gura; Produced by David Fox with help from Rachael Lewis-Krisky and Victor Swezey; Reported by Vanessa Perdomo; Edited by Aaron Edwards. Fact-checking by Laura Newcombe and Rachael Lewis-Krisky; Engineering by Emma Munger. Senior Producer: Naomi Shavin; Deputy Executive Producer: Julia Weaver. Executive Producer: Nicole Beemsterboer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.