The making of a World Cup

2025-12-04

Whether you call it football or soccer, next summer, the US, Mexico and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup. It’s the first time three countries have organised the tournament.A record 48 teams will compete across 16 host cities, with millions attending games across North America and billions watching at home.But how much does it cost to host a World Cup? What does it take for a city to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans? And does that investment really boost the local economy? We go pitch-side to f...

Whether you call it football or soccer, next summer, the US, Mexico and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup. It’s the first time three countries have organised the tournament.

A record 48 teams will compete across 16 host cities, with millions attending games across North America and billions watching at home.

But how much does it cost to host a World Cup? What does it take for a city to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans? And does that investment really boost the local economy? We go pitch-side to find out.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is businessdaily@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Megan Lawton Producer Sam Gruet

(Picture: Sharon Bollenbach, Executive Director of World Cup Hosting for Toronto, Canada.)

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