New York and New Jersey officials are expecting the upcoming soccer World Cup to bring in a $3 billion boost to the local economy. The FIFA World Cup would be hosted in the U.S. next year, for the first time in three decades.
MetLife Stadium, home of the Jets and Giants in East Rutherford, NJ, will host eight matches including the final — which are projected to generate $1.3 billion in total labor income and $1.7 billion in spending by attendees and fans flocking to metropolitan area, according to the report by the NY/NJ Host Committee.
The 48-team tournament will run from June 11 to July 19, and is expected to be the most attended event in FIFA history. More than 1.2 million tourists are expected to travel to the New York-New Jersey region for the games, according to the report, which was co-authored by Tourism Economics, a peer-reviewed journal owned by Oxford Economics.
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“It’s a legacy-defining opportunity to create lasting economic and social impact for New York and New Jersey,” Alex Lasry, CEO of the NY/NJ Host Committee, said in a statement. “From record tourism and global visibility to local investment and job creation, this tournament will help shape the future of our region.” The report also stated that more than 26,000 jobs will be created across New York and New Jersey to support the games.
Other U.S. host cities include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Bay Area, and Seattle. The host states will also get an additional $432 million in state and local tax revenues.
When asked about how increased tensions between countries over U.S. tariffs would affect the World Cup, President Donald Trump said that tensions “are a good thing,” and that it will make it “more exciting.”
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The Club World Cup 2025 — a 63-match competition between top club soccer teams from around the world — concluded with a final hosted by the New Jersey-New York region on July 13. This tournament sold close to 1.5 million tickets, according to FIFA. This tournament has been a short preview of what would come next year.
“In less than one year from today, more than one billion people around the world will be watching,” said Chair of the NYNJ Host Committee Tammy Murphy in a statement. “The countdown is on for this once-in-a-generation opportunity to showcase our region on the world stage.”