Football’s global governing body, has announced that it expects revenue to exceed its $6.44 billion revenue target for the 2019 to 2022 rights cycle.
In its 2021 annual report, Fifa says that it reached $766.5 million in revenues for 2021, exceeding its original budget target by three per cent. It also represents a 187 per cent increase on 2020, when Fifa posted revenue of $266.5 million.
Contracted revenue as of 31st December 2021 therefore stood at $6.11 billion, meaning Fifa has hit 95 per cent of its revenue target for the three-year cycle that concludes with the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The organisation now expects to pass its overall target for the current cycle and set a new revenue record.
Marketing sales, another major traditional income driver, reached $131 million last year. The bulk of that revenue ($93 million) came from Fifa’s global partnership agreements, while $30 million came from World Cup sponsors. A further $5 million was generated from Fifa regional supporters, $2 million from women’s soccer partners and $1 million from national-level sponsors.
Revenue from hospitality and ticket sales reached $12 million last year, mainly due to ticket sales for the Fifa Arab Cup which ran from 30th November until 18th December. Fifa says that 631,742 spectators attended 32 matches during the tournament.
Fifa brought in $320 million in ‘other income’ last year, including $60 million granted by the United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) in compensation for corruption carried out by former officials. The remaining $260 million was brought in by the Club World Cup, break fees related to cancelled contracts, property sales, Fifa Museum revenue and income from sales of archive content.
Meanwhile, the governing body paid out $1.08 billion in expenses and investments in 2021. The biggest outlay was $555 million on development projects, while $234 million went towards events, $192 million on federation governance, $52 million on commercial areas and broadcasting, as well as $44 million on sporting governance.
