It is the world's biggest sporting event, watched by 5 billion fans. This edition of the World Cup will be the most watched, visited, and shared on social media. The opening ceremony precedes the start of the World Cup.

The 2026 World Cup will be the most followed sporting event on social media, posing a significant challenge in terms of data consumption. It is estimated that 7% of global internet traffic will be consumed by football viewers. The tournament alone will consume 90 petabytes, 45 times more than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

According to Mundo América, the 2026 FIFA World Cup, currently underway, is expected to be the most-watched and most-visited sporting event in history. It is considered the world's biggest sporting event, surpassing the Olympics, the Super Bowl, and the Cricket World Cup. This event enjoys immense public support, with approximately 5 billion football fans worldwide – double the number of fans of the second most popular sport, cricket.

This means that nearly 6 out of every 10 people on Earth identify as football fans. This explains the interest of Arab investors and private equity funds in acquiring major European leagues, including La Liga, or becoming shareholders in clubs, thus becoming part of a sector where ticket sales are less important than commercial agreements or stadium usage.

The American newspaper reports that 104 matches will be played during the World Cup, most of them in the United States (78 matches), compared to 13 matches in Canada and Mexico. Everything here is bigger than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with more teams and stadiums capable of hosting 7.2 million fans, compared to 3.4 million four years ago.

These are astronomical figures, and the 48 participating nations are estimated to represent 27% of the world's population and 62% of the global economy. Preliminary studies by FIFA indicate that the 2026 World Cup will impact the global economy by approximately $41 billion and create 800,000 jobs, including two out of every ten jobs in the United States.

The event will benefit diverse sectors such as airlines, beverages, sportswear, restaurants, cable and satellite channels, social media, and online sports betting.

The World Cup affects wages, particularly in the service sector, boosts retail sales, and impacts inflation. Hotel prices in the United States are expected to rise by 1% in June due to the World Cup, with significant increases in host cities. According to Bank of America, the global sports industry generated $2.3 trillion in revenue last year, making it the tenth largest economy in the world.

This industry's revenue is projected to exceed $3.7 trillion by 2030. Football (soccer) generated €620 million in revenue in the major European leagues in 2025, with less than 20% coming from matchday ticket sales, a significant portion from television broadcasting rights, and the remainder from commercial deals