… For a 200 m-people country, missing the World Cup is costly
Nigeria’s failure to qualify for two consecutive FIFA World Cups—Qatar 2022 and the ongoing USA, Canada and Mexico 2026 tournament—is more than a football disappointment. It is a major economic, marketing and reputational loss for Africa’s largest country says Moregood Phillips resident marketing research analyst at the Insight Place Nigeria.
According to Phillips , football has become the world’s biggest sporting business. The English Premier League, Italy’s Serie A, Spain’s La Liga, Germany’s Bundesliga and France’s Ligue 1 attract billions of dollars in sponsorships from global brands.
Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a major football destination further demonstrates that football is now as much about business as it is about sport.
The FIFA World Cup is the pinnacle of this commercial ecosystem. Qatar 2022 generated approximately US$7.5 billion in revenue for FIFA from broadcasting rights, sponsorships, licensing and hospitality, while over five billion viewers followed the tournament worldwide. FIFA also distributed about US$440 million in prize money, with even teams eliminated in the group stage receiving around US$9 million.
