Global soccer’s governing body FIFA secured overall revenues of $1.17 billion during the 2023 financial year, it has unveiled.
Although this represented a substantial year-on-year loss from the 2022 total of $5.76 billion, the latter figure came following the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, with that quadrennial men’s competition having grown into far-and-away FIFA’s largest commercial draw. As such, a significant drop in the 2023 revenue figure was always expected.
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2023, meanwhile, contained a FIFA Women’s World Cup (WWC) as its showpiece event.
In terms of the different revenue streams, $455.9 million came from marketing rights, $267.2 million from broadcast rights sales, $181.1 million from licensing rights, and $80.1 million as a result of hospitality rights and ticket sales. Of that last figure, $43 million came from the WWC, held across Australia and New Zealand in June and July (which broke FIFA WWC ticket sales records). Other revenue, meanwhile, came to $186 million.
FIFA commented, in its 2023 annual report in which the figures were released, that the total revenue figure represented a significant rise (of 53%) on the $768 million it secured in 2019. That year is the most comparable, given it contained a WWC and also came a year after a men’s event.
In terms of the most significant increases in revenue from 2019 to 2023, the 2019 marketing rights figure only came to $164.8 million – last year’s figure, therefore, represents a significant increase.
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By GlobalDataFIFA filled its sponsorship quota for last year’s WWC, with the tournament being partnered by 30 brands in total. Five of these were top-tier FIFA partners, who last year paid $254.7 million as opposed to $762.5 million in 2013.
FIFA has said that the revenue in that sector came to 101% above budget.
Licensing revenue also increased, up from $159.5 million (and again exceeding the budget, this time by $21 million), but broadcast rights fees actually decreased last year, having amounted to $342.6 million in 2019.
This came after FIFA, as well as various national governments, had to put public pressure on broadcasters in a number of key European markets to buy rights for the tournament.
This followed a lengthy standoff, during which broadcasters failed to stump up the amount which FIFA had originally asked for, to cover women’s soccer’s showpiece event.
In the end, the region where the most broadcast revenues were generated last year was Asia and North Africa ($63.8 million).
FIFA has commented on this sector by saying that it has “adapted its media rights sales strategy by taking a more comprehensive and detailed approach to the market.”
In terms of ticketing and hospitality rights income, meanwhile, $37 million in sales from this sector for the 2022 men’s World Cup was also added into last year’s total.
For the other revenue sector, this came mainly from two editions of the FIFA Club World Cup last year, the governing body has said.
In terms of expenses and costs, FIFA has said that last year’s WWC expenses came to $498.7 million, as opposed to $156.9 million for the 2019 edition in France.
Switzerland-based FIFA has said its net result for 2023 was a loss of $390.5 million.
2023 was the first year of a new FIFA cycle (2023-26), and FIFA has said its results this year “exceeded the budget by a significant 45%.”
The body also said it is “well on-track” to reach its total budgeted revenue of $11 billion across 2023-26.
