Amna Nawaz
@PBSNewsHour·5.3M subscribers·62.2K videos
WATCH: Why hosting World Cup has 'no financial benefit'
Posted
July 15, 2026
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July 15, 2026
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2:18Now PlayingThere is "no financial benefit" to hosting the World Cup, sports journalist Simon Kuper says.
"World Cups don't boost the economy," he told PBS News' Geoff Bennett. "That's a very clear and consistent finding by academic sports economists over the decades ... So they don't increase GDP. They don't increase the number of jobs. They don't increase tourism to your cities."
"Then you're left with the costs because FIFA's model is, it takes all the money from the World Cup," he added. "The host city can't even charge sales tax on ticket sales, and the hosts have to pay the costs."
Kuper, author of “World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments," joined Bennett for the latest episode of PBS News' Settle In podcast. They discussed the World Cup, the politics of FIFA and where soccer goes from here.
For the full episode, click the link in our bio.
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