Russia and Brazil World Cup’s Leading Spenders over Last Twenty Years
Delovoi Peterburg
June 18, 2018

Photo by Sergei Konkov

Russia and Brazil took first place in terms of the cost of readying their countries to host the FIFA World Cup since 1998. A report by JLL, a consultancy company, shows each country spent $11.6 billion on organizing the event.

The report’s authors note that, according to the latest data available, Russia has spent ₽683 billion [approx. €9.3 billion] to host the World Cup. Thirty-nine percent of this money, or ₽265 billion, has been spent on building and repairing sports facilities.

The report’s authors also note that Russia has been the only recent host of the World Cup to build or renovate all twelve venues.

They write that Russia has set the per stadium record, spending an average of $380 million on each venue.

By way of comparison, South Korea and Japan spent $8.1 million on the 2002 World Cup; Germany, $7.7 billion on the 2006 World Cup; and South Africa, $5.2 billion on the 2010 World Cup. The most modest preparations were made by France for the 1998 World Cup. France spent only $2 billion on organizing the event.

Russia spent the most money on infrastructure while preparing for the World Cup. The country invested $7.1 billion in infrastructure, including $3.9 billion on transportation infrastructure. Meanwhile, it spent $4.5 billion on stadiums.

Russia yields only to South Korea and Japan in expenditures on stadiums. They spent a total of $4.6 billion.

Overall, Russia spent ₽18.9 billion [approx. €256 million] more on getting ready for the World Cup than was planned in 2013.

According to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee’s preliminary estimate, as cited in JJL’s report, the summary economic impact of the 2018 World Cup on Russia during the period 2013–2018 will be ₽867 billion [approx. €11.8 billion] or roughly one percent of annual GDP. The primary effect will be achieved through investments and operating expenses. It is expected to reach ₽746 billion.

 

The 2018 FIFA World Cup takes place in twelve stadiums in eleven Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, 2018.

Diagrams excerpted from “Investing into [sic] Football Passion: The Effect of the World Cup in Russia.” Article translated by the Russian Reader