Infantino: The World Cup will generate $80 billion

Gianni Infantino, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), confirmed that the world will stop turning during the 2026 World Cup, describing the tournament as the biggest show on Earth.

During his speech before participants in an investment summit in Miami, United States, organized by the Future Investment Initiative Institute of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Infantino explained that the World Cup, which will begin on Thursday, June 11, will be a transformative event by all standards.

The FIFA president added: “We learned in schools that the Earth revolves around the sun and around itself, but within 39 days of the tournament, the world will stop, and everyone will focus only on football.”

Infantino spoke about the strong economic impact of the tournament, which will be held in 16 host cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the participation of 48 teams that will play 104 matches, noting that this number of confrontations is equivalent to organizing 104 Super Bowl matches in just one month.

The same official revealed that the expected economic impact of the event amounts to about $80 billion, in addition to its contribution to providing hundreds of thousands of job opportunities and providing lasting social benefits to communities, stressing that global interest in attending the matches from the stadiums has already reached millions 76 days before the start; While billions are expected to follow the event on screens from around the world.

For his part, Brazilian legend Ronaldo participated in this platform, where he expressed his expectations that the next edition will be the best and most beautiful tournament ever.

The World Cup winner in 1994 and 2002 confirmed that representing the Brazilian national team had been his dream since childhood, and that winning the World Cup represented the greatest achievement he had ever achieved in his life.