Qatar 2022 has the great and complicated mission of winning over the millions of fans who will enjoy soccer's most prestigious event, either live from Asia or through broadcasts. The handicap against it from the outset was the fact that a World Cup had never before been held in the Middle East.
There are lands that exude passion and soccer tradition, such as, undeniably, countries like Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay in South America, or England, France or Spain in Europe. This is different from Asia, where of the 21 previous editions of the FIFA World Cup, only one has been organized.
Thus, for the upcoming World Cup, both FIFA and the host country, Qatar, spared no resources to ensure the world an unprecedented experience, in which modernity and technology merge into one. This is the budget that Qatar 2022 has available to make it happen.
FIFA's budget for Qatar 2022
A division must be made at the outset. There is a total amount that is invested for a host country to organize a World Cup, which is divided into two. The money that FIFA spends on what it is responsible for doing, and the amount of resources that the host spends so that the tournament can be held smoothly on its soil.
Regarding the money that FIFA has put on the table for the upcoming World Cup, the amount is clear and was disclosed in the annual financial report of this organization for the year 2020. And the figures are 1696 million dollars.
The distribution of this bestial amount is as follows. The largest part goes to prizes to be awarded to the 32 participating federations, with 440 million. Then the largest chunk goes to operating expenses, with a total of 322 million (transportation, hospitality and commercial services, insurance, logistics, communication, technology and sustainability, among others).
The remaining items among which the money FIFA invests to hold Qatar 2022 is allocated are as follows in decreasing order of the amount allocated: television, club assistance program, personnel administration, team services, other expenses, information technology and marketing rights.
Qatar invests a massive amount to host the FIFA World Cup 2022
In order to be chosen as host country of the World Cup, FIFA establishes a complex filter that many of the countries with the intention of achieving it cannot pass. And the fact is that this tournament is the flagship of the highest governing body of soccer worldwide and therefore takes care of it as its most precious jewel.
Thus, within the requirements to host a FIFA World Cup, established by FIFA in official documents, specific requests must be met, such as the number of stadiums available for the tournament. For the opening match and the grand final, the capacity must be at least 80,000 people; for the group stage, Round of 16, Quarter Finals and third-place match, a capacity of 40,000 fans is required; for the semifinals, at least 60,000 seats are needed.
Likewise, there also must be facilities available for the qualified national teams and referees, such as training facilities, training hotels, training camps for the venues, and hotels and training camps for the referees.
In terms of infrastructure, there must be accommodation facilities for FIFA staff as well as offices for their administrative work, a network of airports, efficient public transportation, IT and telecommunications networks, space for the International Radio and Television Center, and security guarantees. In addition, political support from the government in office is key.
Also, and no less important, to hold a FIFA World Cup it is necessary to secure space for the FIFA Fan Fests, to have volunteers, health and medical services available and to offer sustainable management of the event with standards of environmental protection and labor and human rights protection.
Thus, after this extensive list, it can be assimilated that so far, and as revealed by Hassan Al Thawadi, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Organizing Committee to Sputnik agency, the host country has a budget of around 6 billion dollars.
The World Cups that cost their host country the most in history
Although the 6 billion dollars that Qatar said it had in mind to invest in the organization of the FIFA World Cup is an outrageous figure, it is still far from the figures that were supposedly spent during the last two editions.
In Brazil 2014, and according to Infobae figures, the amount spent was more than 11 billion dollars. This amount was surpassed four years later, as a report by Russia's RBC newspaper revealed that the country spent 14 billion dollars on the event.
