The making of a World Cup

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 4 December 2025

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Whether you call it football or soccer, next summer, the US, Mexico and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup. It’s the first time three countries have organised the tournament.

A record 48 teams will compete across 16 host cities, with millions attending games across North America and billions watching at home.

But how much does it cost to host a World Cup? What does it take for a city to welcome hundreds of thousands of fans? And does that investment really boost the local economy? We go pitch-side to find out.

If you'd like to get in touch with the programme, our email address is [email protected]

Presenter: Megan Lawton Producer Sam Gruet

(Picture: Sharon Bollenbach, Executive Director of World Cup Hosting for Toronto, Canada.)

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:06.0	Hello and welcome to Toronto's Football World Cup Stadium and today's Business Daily.
0:12.8	Okay, I'll just wait for this helicopter to pass on by.
0:15.6	Who's trying to catch a view before it all begins?
0:17.9	I'm Megan Lawton, and with less than a year to go until the FIFA Men's World Cup,
0:23.5	we're going behind the scenes.
0:25.6	We're recording this in September.
0:27.7	Come June, tell me about how this empty stadium describe the atmosphere you would like to have.
0:32.8	Oh my gosh.
0:33.7	Yeah, that kind of makes my heart flutter a little bit.
0:36.2	It's the biggest global sporting event in the world.
0:38.9	A record 48 countries are competing with millions attending games across North America, billions watching at home.
0:47.3	Today, we'll find out what it costs to host a World Cup.
0:50.7	We're estimating that approximately $1.9 billion will be spent in this country
0:55.3	with the planning preparation, the hosting and just the overall experiencing of the World Cup.
1:00.8	And whether that investment pays off for the local economy.
1:04.1	And this is the question that locals have, which is what development will they see?
1:09.1	The business of hosting a World Cup.
1:11.5	That's coming up on Business Daily.
1:15.4	Whether you call it football or soccer,
1:18.1	next summer, the US, Mexico and Canada will host the FIFA Men's World Cup.
1:23.8	It's the first time three countries have organised the tournament.
	...

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