FIFA's World Cup of Money Machines, Gary Lineker Slams a Tournament Increasingly Run by Sponsors and Ads

JAKARTA - As millions of fans around the world look forward to goals, drama, and surprises at the 2026 World Cup, there is another match taking place off the field. The match is not played by Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, or Jude Bellingham.

At the center are FIFA, a technology company, global sponsors, television networks and an advertising industry worth billions of dollars.

The biggest World Cup in history involving 48 countries and 104 matches is being sold as a celebration of global football. But behind the slogans, the magnificent show, and the crowded stadiums, this tournament is also the most ambitious commercial project FIFA has ever built. Unfortunately, not everyone is comfortable with that fact.

One of the loudest voices came from Gary Lineker. The former England striker and BBC World Cup commentator for more than two decades is now watching the tournament from a different side after leaving the public broadcaster.

When the BBC decided to keep doing most of its broadcasts from Salford, Manchester, Lineker instead signed a contract worth around £14 million with Netflix to broadcast his popular podcast, The Rest Is Football, live from New York.

In a comment that became a widely discussed topic in England, Lineker mocked the BBC's approach. "I'm probably just in Salford in a green box," he said, referring to the virtual studio used by the BBC.

Instead, he now broadcasts from Times Square and has top guests.

The digression actually reflects a larger shift. The World Cup is no longer just about the games on the pitch. The tournament has evolved into a global entertainment product contested by streaming platforms, television networks, tech sponsors, and the advertising industry.

No one illustrates that reality more clearly than ITV's statement. The British broadcaster calls the 2026 World Cup a "six-week summer Super Bowl."

The statement is not a mere metaphor. ITV, which broadcast 51 of the 104 matches, revealed that their advertising revenue was around 30 percent higher than Euro 2024, even when England made it to the final of the tournament.

Gold Mine

For advertisers, the World Cup has turned into a gold mine. Media industry sources estimate that a 30-second ad during the England match can be sold for up to 300,000 pounds or around Rp6.6 billion.

More interestingly, ITV revealed that they had sold advertising packages to around 220 different companies. As many as 70 of them have never even advertised in a football broadcast before.

Most striking is the flood of technology and artificial intelligence companies. Google is the main sponsor to promote Gemini and Pixel. In addition, there are advertisements from Amazon Web Services, Apple, Dell, Microsoft Copilot, and Meta.

Even Nike took advantage of the World Cup momentum to air a six-minute ad that was billed as the longest commercial ever aired on British television.

The phenomenon shows how football is now a global showcase for the technology industry that is vying to establish dominance in the era of artificial intelligence.

FIFA itself has made much greater profits. According to FIFA's official budget documents for the 2023-2026 cycle, the organization estimates that revenue will reach a record $13 billion or around Rp212 trillion over the four-year period. This figure is an increase of 72 percent compared to the previous cycle.

Money Machine

The 2026 World Cup is the main engine behind the surge. For 2026 alone, FIFA is targeting revenue of 8.911 billion US dollars. Television broadcasting rights are the largest contributor with a value of 3.925 billion US dollars. While income from sponsors and marketing rights reaches 1.786 billion US dollars. Income from tickets and hospitality packages is even expected to reach 3.017 billion US dollars, the highest in FIFA history.

When combined, more than 97 percent of FIFA's revenue next year will come from broadcast rights, sponsorships, tickets and hospitality. Those figures help explain why many decisions on how to stage tournaments are now seen through a business lens.

The addition of participants from 32 to 48 countries created 40 additional matches. More matches mean more advertising slots. More broadcasting rights. More tickets. More sponsors.

The hydration break that has been controversial in the last few days also raises similar questions.

Officially, FIFA said the rule was aimed at protecting players' health from the hot weather. However, the rule also provides new space for broadcasters to include advertisements in the middle of the game.

For some fans, soccer is slowly beginning to adopt the commercial logic of North American sports that for decades relied on halftime breaks as an advertising inventory.

The 2026 World Cup is not yet at that stage. But the signs are becoming more visible. Starting from the expansion of the number of participants, the increase in matches, the increase in ticket prices, the explosion of technology sponsors, to the increased integration between sports broadcasting and the advertising industry.

FIFA certainly has a strong defense. The organization insists that more than 90 percent of its revenue will be reinvested into global football through development, competition, education, and assistance programs for 211 member associations. In the 2023-2026 cycle, FIFA has budgeted football investments of 11.673 billion US dollars.

The argument is true. Without a large income, FIFA will not be able to fund the development of football in developing countries or expand investment in women's and youth football.

But for critics, the question is no longer whether FIFA makes too much money. The question is whether the line between the celebration of football and commercial exploitation is starting to become increasingly blurred.

When a tournament is referred to as a "six-week Super Bowl", when AI companies spend millions of dollars to buy the attention of the audience, when a six-minute commercial is considered the main attraction of the broadcast, and when revenue of almost nine billion dollars becomes the official target of the organizers, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the 2026 World Cup is not just the biggest sports competition on the planet.

He is also probably the most profitable business machine ever created in the history of football.