Six days to go…

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It is Friday, 5 June and only six days to go until the FIFA World Cup starts again. I don’t know about you, but after the first five months of 2026, I am really in need of five weeks of distraction.Of course, if you ask the people who live in host cities of World Cup matches, they may not be that happy about the influx of tourists from all over the world, but at least it is good for business. Or is it?There have been numerous studies that show that the revenues generated from mega-events like the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup do not justify the costs of hosting them. But these studies have been done on a regional or country-level basis. And surely, the US economy will not feel any measurable benefit from the World Cup this year, nor will the Canadian economy or the Mexican economy. They are too large compared to the number of games played in these countries and the money spent on match days.By the way, in recent weeks, you may have come across studies by banks on how to invest to benefit from the World Cup. I really wouldn’t do that. Adidas or AB InBev (the owner of Budweiser) are too large to feel a meaningful impact on its revenues and profits even from a mega event like this.But that doesn’t mean that the benefits are negligible for everyone. Florian Dorn and his colleagues examined hyper-localised credit card spending data in Germany during the Euro 2024. They found that yes, around match days, there is a significant increase in consumer spending, particularly on apparel (football shirts and fan scarves) as well as in bars and restaurants.This increase is almost e…