The FIFA World Cup is a world soccer competition, which is contested by the senior men's national teams of FIFA, the world governing body for the sport. The championship is scheduled every four years, except in 1942 and 1946, as a result of the Second World War. France is the current champion and the last tournament took place in Russia in 2018.
Eight different national teams have so far won in the 21 World Cup tournaments. Brazil have won five times and they are the only participant have featured in all 21 tournaments so far. Germany and Italy each have celebrated four titles, Argentina, France, and Uruguay with two; and England and Spain, with one title each.
This competition enables the host country to display itself worldwide for a month. It produces massive TV profits, legions of travelers, and incredible ticket sales. But the tournament also underlines the economic pressure and a merciless focus, as many of the countries have learned.
How much did Los Angeles earn from the 1994 FIFA World Cup?
A new period of efficient business strategy was introduced at the US World Cup. Hosted in many cities with large-scale sponsors including Adidas and Coca-Cola, the project provided LA alone with $620 million only in the final, which is $440 million more than the 1994 Super Bowl. The overall revenue reached the number of $1.45 billion, against a total of $5.6 billion in cost. In addition, the U.S. has made use of it in the long run by introducing the Major League Football (MLS).
American professor Gary Hopkins claims that hosting the 1994 World Cup changed soccer faces and fortunes forever in the USA. In a book published in 2010, named Star-Spangled Soccer: The Selling, Marketing, and Management of Soccer in the USA, Hopkins maps America's journey to becoming a soccer country.
He said: “The granting of the 1994 World Cup to the United States set in motion a chain of events that has redefined soccer in America forever, good and bad, up and down but ultimately positioned to become a major force in the rapidly changing American Sports landscape.
“Because of this event, America’s youth today see soccer as much a part of the American lifestyle as Basketball, Baseball, and Apple pie. Soccer kids in America are as likely to know, Messi Ronaldo and Rooney and the star –power of Barca, United and Real as they are the pitcher for the LA Dodgers or the running back for the New York Giants.”
