Canada to spend $1.1 billion hosting its 13 FIFA World Cup games

Of the tournament’s 104 matches, most of the ones in Canada will be in the early group stage, with the country hosting three higher-stakes knockout games. Photo by Cole BURSTON/AFP via Getty Images

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Canadian taxpayers will spend just under $1.1 billion to host their country’s portion of this summer’s FIFA World Cup, a report said Wednesday, adding to the growing public bill across North America from the event.

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The federal government will spend $473 million on the tournament while other governments will cover $593 million, the report said.

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The Canadian report is the latest addition to the tally of the tournament’s costs being borne by the public, with FIFA, football’s global governing body, seeing direct revenue from ticket sales. The Men’s World Cup is set to be played across 16 cities in Canada, Mexico and the United States in June and July, with the final at New Jersey’s MetLife stadium.

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The report shows the costs fielded by Canada’s federal government are largely related to security for the event, though there were also substantial expenditures for stadium upgrades and other sporting infrastructure, as well as grants to local governments.

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The US$60 million per-game bill, in U.S. dollar terms, “is aligned to past public spending to host World Cup events,” the watchdog’s report said. That compares with US$79.6 million for the 2018 tournament in Russia and US$90.9 million for Brazil in 2014, figures that weren’t adjusted for inflation. The most recent World Cup in Qatar was not analyzed in the report.

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The North American iteration is the first to be continentally hosted. The U.S. government is spending US$625 million on security, and each of the 11 U.S. host cities is paying as much as US$200 million, according to Politico.

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Cities tend to shoulder the costs for services such as transit and cleanup, and will be counting on increased revenue from match-related tourism.

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New Jersey’s transit authority drew backlash earlier this year when it sought to shift some of its costs to fans by charging US$150 for a round trip to MetLife Stadium from New York, when the fare is usually just US$13. It’s since lowered that cost to US$105.

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Of the tournament’s 104 matches, most of the ones in Canada will be in the early group stage, with the country hosting three higher-stakes knockout games.

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