Vancouver hosting FIFA World Cup matches is a financial mistake: economist
Posted June 11, 2025 7:09 am.
Wednesday marks exactly one year from the 2026 FIFA World Cup getting underway, and there are still questions around costs and logistics as Vancouver is set to host several matches.
Moshe Lander, senior lecturer at the department of economics at Concordia University in Montreal, tells 1130 NewsRadio it’s not worth being a host city.
“It was never worth hosting. This was ego-soaked decision-making at City Hall and nothing more than that,” he explained.
“It was never going to be a money-maker; it was always going to be cost overruns. I’m going to take a victory lap when we see the final bill and I say, ‘I told you so.’ And it’s really disappointing when the Vancouver mayor has a background in finance and couldn’t see this coming.”
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!Lander adds that when you consider the costs associated with hosting such a large-scale event, the numbers don’t add up for a positive economic spin-off. He also doesn’t buy the argument that this will help put Vancouver on the world map.
“Is it conceivable that there is anybody in the world who has not heard of Vancouver? If you’ve heard of Canada, is it possible that you’re going to say, ‘What is this Vancouver that I’m hearing about?’ No way,” he said.
“Beyond that … if Vancouver was hosting knock-out round games, if they were hosting the finals, then OK, this is broadcast to billions of people, and maybe it’s possible that there is somebody who says, ‘Hey, check out this place.’ It has hosted the Winter Olympics. It is one of Canada’s three biggest cities, and it is home to immigrants from over 100 different countries. It’s impossible this is going to raise Vancouver’s profile.”
Lander doesn’t think once the tournament is over, people will necessarily come back in droves to help boost tourism.
“Vancouver could have taken all of the tens of millions of dollars that they’re spending, put together the slickest advertising campaign the world has ever seen and broadcast it to the world — much more cost-effective than what they think they’re going to get from having a couple of 90-minute matches.”
The timing of hosting is also terrible, given that the economy is currently struggling, he adds.
“Even if the economy were humming along, you still have to make decisions in government. You don’t have an unlimited pool of money that you can draw from. If you’re going to allocate tens of hundreds of millions of dollars to hosting a few World Cup games, then that is money that is going to come out of something else. It’s not even a function of tariffs, or the economy being in trouble, or cost of living issues, which is not new to Greater Vancouver.”
He questions whether debt levels may rise or infrastructure projects are potentially pushed back because of the tournament, given that the event won’t be paid off anytime soon.
“We’re saying future generations are going to have to pay for this, so it’s going to be our kids and grandkids who are going to have to pay for us hosting a few World Cup games. I’m not too sure they’re going to be too grateful when the bill comes for that.”
The other side effect of hosting is that some locals may get out of town to avoid the crowds. Lander explains there are consequences to that as well.
“Can you imagine what the security cordon is going to look like to secure BC Place? Can you imagine what the already ridiculous traffic gridlock is going to look like? Can you imagine what the train system is going to look like?” he said.
“The difference between now and the [2010 Games] is that we did not know how to work from home. Now we do. A lot of the jobs that are in downtown can be done from home. So, how many of these businesses are going to say to their workers, ‘Don’t come in.’ But by not coming in, how many of the secondary and tertiary businesses are going to say, ‘Where did all of our customers go?'”
Lander says packed bars and restaurants won’t help pay for the cost of hosting either.
“That’s the same garbage we’re seeing right now when we watch the Edmonton Oilers play in the Stanley Cup Final. It doesn’t change the economic reality that you’re not actually creating permanent jobs, any more than the Vancouver Olympics created permanent jobs.”
He also thinks there’s a big difference between hosting a winter event and a summer event.
“In the summertime, Vancouver is packed. All you’re going to do is replace the normal, traditional tourists with the soccer tourists, and all they’re going to do is displace the more traditional tourists. If all of the local population is racing out of town and you’re just substituting one set of tourists for another, it seems the net economic impact is at best zero and possibly even negative.”
When the city, along with Whistler and Richmond, hosted the 2010 Games, there were massive infrastructure upgrades to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the construction of the Richmond Oval and the Canada Line, but that’s not the case this time around.
In fact, the Broadway Subway, which was supposed to be operational this year, won’t be done until 2027 and is already over budget by almost $130 million.
“If you’re not building new hotels and those hotels are already at 90 per cent occupancy, you’re really just substituting one [set of tourists] for another. And even if you cram more people into the hotels, it’s probably going to drive hotel prices up, and so who’s going to benefit from that? Is that going to be the cleaning crew? The concierge staff? Is that going to be the people on the frontline of the hotel? Or is that going to be the shareholders of the company who see extra profits and don’t actually even live in Vancouver.”
Lander doesn’t deny it’s going to be a big, fun party, but he warns there will be a big hangover, saying it’s “negligent” of city officials not to be realistic with the public about the potential consequences of being a host city.
“The fact is, this is going to take years, if not decades, to pay off because it’s not going to generate the money that was promised, and so that money is going to have to come from somewhere.”
The Ministry of Tourism is confident this will create jobs and long-term benefits for folks in the tourism sector.
“On average, people who visit B.C. return four times in their lifetime, according to Destination BC and BC Stats. They fill up hotel rooms, buy from local businesses and take their positive experiences home, encouraging others to come. Destination B.C. estimates that hosting the FIFA World Cup 26™ means B.C. will benefit from an estimated $1 billion in additional visitor spending from 2026-2031,” it said in a statement to 1130 NewsRadio.
The province says it, along with the city, is committed to transparency and will be releasing cost estimates around the World Cup in the next few weeks.
At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, officials will be holding a news conference to celebrate a “One Year to Go” event. You can watch CityNews 24/7 live or listen live to 1130 NewsRadio Vancouver to keep up to date with this story. You can also subscribe to breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
