The $40.9 billion FIFA World Cup impact: potential boost for Gulf travel and consumer spending.
Dubai: The 2026 FIFA World Cup is poised to provide the Arab world with its largest global platform to date, as a record eight teams from the region secure qualification for the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Iraq feature on this year’s team sheet, doubling the previous Arab record set in 2018. Jordan will make its World Cup debut, while Iraq returns to the tournament after a 40-year absence.
The expanded tournament, which will feature 48 teams for the first time, is expected to attract around 6.5 million attendees and contribute up to $40.9 billion to global GDP, according to organiser estimates based on an Oxford Economics study. However, the final economic impact could be more modest once factors such as ticket prices, travel costs, hotel rates, and host-city capacity pressures are considered.
Josh Gilbert said the bigger narrative for Arab economies lies in the global exposure generated by football’s largest international tournament.“For the countries involved, the real prize isn’t necessarily the tournament itself, but the global attention it generates. A strong run puts a nation in front of a worldwide audience, delivering exposure that no tourism budget can match,” said Josh Gilbert.
Tourism gains could outlast the tournament
Morocco’s 2022 World Cup campaign remains the clearest regional case study. The team reached the semi-finals in FIFA World Cup 2022 and subsequently welcomed 14.5 million visitors in 2023, a 34% increase from the previous year.
Football was not the only factor behind the increase, but Josh Gilbert said the tournament helped keep Morocco in the global spotlight, sustaining tourism demand long after the final whistle.
The same effect could now extend across a much broader Arab lineup, particularly if one or more teams achieve a deep run in the tournament. Tourism boards, airlines, hotels, restaurants, retailers, and consumer brands are all likely to benefit from the heightened visibility generated by World Cup momentum.
“World Cup fever is hard to ignore, and it extends well beyond the host cities,” said Josh Gilbert.
This is particularly relevant for the Gulf Cooperation Council region and the United Arab Emirates, where tourism and hospitality sectors have already been on an upward trajectory. The GCC attracted 72.2 million inbound tourists in 2024, up 51.5% from 2019 levels, while UAE hotel establishments welcomed a record 32.34 million guests in 2025.
The UAE impact will come through spending channels
Although the United Arab Emirates is not hosting matches, the broader World Cup economy is expected to filter through local consumer spending channels.
Fans are expected to spend across multiple categories, including flights, hotel stays, watch parties, sports bars, restaurants, food delivery, merchandise, advertising, payments, and streaming subscriptions. Broadcasters, digital platforms, payment providers, and consumer brands are also likely to benefit from increased engagement throughout the tournament.
Saudi Arabia has led regional football investment in recent years, while Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Morocco have used sport as part of broader diversification strategies focused on tourism, global visibility, and consumer-sector growth.
“The World Cup will not transform regional economies on its own, but it is a tailwind for sectors already moving in the right direction. With more Arab teams involved than ever before, the Middle East and North Africa has a bigger stage,” said Josh Gilbert.
Bigger event, but limited macro impact
Economists remain cautious about the headline economic figures associated with mega sporting events.
Dorian Anglada said the World Cup’s economic impact is tangible but largely concentrated, short-lived, and sector-specific, with benefits mostly limited to the duration of the tournament.
According to analysis from Saxo, the tournament could generate around $17 billion in additional GDP for the United States—less than 0.1% of the country’s overall economic output. Mexico is expected to see a relatively larger proportional boost of about $3 billion, while Canada may record gains of roughly CAD 3.8 billion, which still need to be weighed against public hosting expenditures.
Anglada noted that a significant portion of the World Cup economy represents “redistribution rather than wealth creation,” as spending is often shifted between activities or locations rather than newly generated.
The 2026 edition may still carry lower risk compared with previous tournaments, as the United States, Canada, and Mexico already have much of the required stadium infrastructure in place. This reduces the likelihood of costly venues becoming underutilised after the event—a recurring challenge seen in past host nations.
Host cities still face the bill
The economics of the World Cup vary significantly depending on perspective.
FIFA benefits from centralised revenue streams including broadcasting rights, sponsorships, licensing, ticket sales, and hospitality. Host cities, however, bear costs linked to security, transport, crowd management, emergency services, sanitation, street closures, and stadium upgrades.
The 2026 tournament has already highlighted these pressures. In the United States, FEMA allocated $625 million in security funding across 11 host cities. In Canada, Toronto’s projected costs have risen to around CAD 380 million, while officials in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have raised concerns over public safety expenses related to matches at Gillette Stadium.
That split between global revenues and local costs is why economists often caution against viewing the World Cup as a straightforward profit generator.
With eight Arab teams competing, the tournament offers Middle East and North Africa countries a rare and concentrated moment of global visibility.
Morocco’s role as a co-host of the FIFA World Cup 2030 also adds further significance to the current cycle, linking this year’s Arab participation to a broader regional strategy in the global sports economy.
The most immediate beneficiaries are expected to include hotels, airlines, restaurants, broadcasters, streaming platforms, merchandise retailers, payment companies, and consumer brands. The longer-term impact, however, will depend on whether the visibility generated during the tournament translates into repeat tourism, stronger national branding, and sustained investment beyond the final whistle.
