The 2018 FIFA World Cup is set to generate $6.1 billion in revenue, according to its financial documents reviewed by The New York Times.
This year's major quadrennial football tournament is estimated to bring in 10 per cent more than what FIFA had initially projected and $1.3 billion more than the last 2014 World Cup held in Brazil.
It will reverse years of losses potentially for Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) due to western companies pulling out over bribery scandals, according to online news portals.
Revenue from television rights sales was 2.0 per cent more than FIFA's $3.0 billion target, and FIFA's sponsorship deals generated $200 million more than the $1.45 billion it had projected, largely because of a slew of deals with Chinese companies.
Seven of the 20 companies sponsoring the tournament are Chinese, up from just one at the last World Cup.
FIFA also saw a 233 per cent increase in annual royalties last year from EA Sports, the maker of the popular FIFA video game franchise. The company paid FIFA $160 million in 2017.
