Tourism and leisure XXL World Cup will only provide a limited boost to the Swiss economy
Kick-off is just a month away: the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico will also give the Swiss economy a noticeable boost. However, not to the extent that the biggest World Cup in history with a record number of matches would lead us to expect.
11.05.2026, 11:07
SDA
Although the tournament, with 48 teams and 104 matches, is significantly larger than the last World Cup with just 64 games, economists do not expect a massively stronger effect on Swiss gross domestic product (GDP) this year. The reason: the FIFA effect is now less significant because more and more major international sporting events are taking place. This puts the impact of the soccer monster tournament into perspective.
According to estimates by economic researchers at the KOF Institute at ETH Zurich, the World Cup should increase Swiss GDP growth by around 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points in 2026. "The effect on GDP will probably be within the usual range," KOF economist Alexander Rathke told the news agency AWP.
One billion francs more revenue
Income from broadcasting rights at the World Cup in North America is likely to be around CHF 1 billion higher than at the last World Cup in Qatar. At the same time, however, the newly introduced Club World Cup has already generated additional revenue of CHF 1 billion in 2025, thus anticipating part of the effect, which is why GDP growth is not as strong.
The Basel-based economic research institute BAK Economics argues in a similar vein: if only the expansion of the World Cup were to be considered, a significantly greater boost would be expected, explained BAK economist Alexis Körber. However, FIFA and the European football association Uefa have generally expanded their activities considerably in recent years - with additional women's tournaments in addition to the Club World Cup. As a result, the men's World Cup stands out less than it used to.
The Fifa effect on GDP is due to the booking of revenue by the world football association. When Fifa sells broadcasting rights, sponsorship packages, hospitality offers or brand rights, this is counted as production by an organization based in Switzerland in the national accounts.
Fifa has its headquarters in Zurich. Other international sports federations are also based in Switzerland, such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the European football association Uefa. As a result, part of the global revenue from major competitions flows into Swiss GDP - even if the tournaments are held entirely abroad.
Hardly any more jobs
"It is a global marketing service provided by a Swiss entity," explained Rathke. However, the real economy or the labor market would only benefit to a limited extent. Both KOF and BAK speak primarily of a statistical effect. Hardly any additional jobs would be created, as the sports associations would not expand their workforces on a large scale. The boom could at least have a positive effect on tax revenues in Switzerland.
According to the economists, the influence of international sporting events on Swiss economic data has increased significantly in recent years, in line with the steep rise in the income of sports associations. In the 2022 World Cup year, the combined revenue of FIFA and the IOC was estimated at over 8 billion US dollars. Around two thirds of this came from Fifa. In 2006, the total revenue was still less than 2 billion dollars.
"The current figures are problematic from an economic analysis perspective," explained Alexis Körber from BAK Economics. Without adjustment, the sport effect can partially mask the actual economic development. For several years now, economic researchers and the federal government have therefore also been publishing a "sports-adjusted" GDP in order to make the actual economic trend more visible.
