The financial success of the World Cup determines a number of factors: the geographical position and the state of the economy of the hosting country's tournament, the size of the stadiums and the public's general interest in the event. But no less important is the composition of the tournament participants - the level of life and attention to football in these countries, as well as the presence of diasporas in the host country.

A simple example: for the ticket to Russia-2018 in the North American qualifying zone, the teams of the United States and Panama fought. It is clear that the arrival of the first team is much more solvent fans and potential incomes for the organizers. However, in the end, mysterious Panamanians arrive at the tournament, and Americans are expected to be less than could be.

Where will the fans come from?

The complex ticket program of the World Cup started in September 2017, and a week before the tournament, more than 2.4 million tickets were sold. Top-10 countries in terms of the number of tickets purchased is as follows:

1. Russia - 871 797
2. United States - 88,825
3. Brazil - 72,512
4. Colombia - 65,234
5. Germany - 62,541
6. Mexico - 60,302
7. Argentina - 54,031
8. Peru - 43,583
9. China - 40,251
10. Australia - 36,359

Leadership of the tournament hosts is a common thing. It is worth noting the second place of Americans: they are two-odd times less than at the 2014 championship in Brazil, but still a lot. This again indicates the football boom in the States. After all, the ratings of European football there - no less than the local MLS. Hence the desire to look at the megastars of the level of Ronaldo and Messi, who have not yet arrived in America.

A similar story is with China. Local fans will also come to watch cool football, and not support their team - the Chinese team did not go to the World Cup since 2002.

Surprisingly, in the top ten, only two European countries - Russia and Germany. German fans are almost a constant for top tournaments. For local football fans to go to the World Cup - not too expensive for the budget and almost always nice: the Germans have not missed the championship of the planet since 1954.

In the top 10 there are no Englishmen, and this can be explained solely by political tension and the "Skripal affair". Negative in the British media, multiplied by the devastating defeat of the Russian ultras in the fight in Marseilles at Euro 2016 - and only a modest 32,362 tickets are recorded for England.

For comparison: 4 years ago, the British with 57,000 tickets were in fifth place. Although to Brazil much further. Together with the British, dozens of Frenchmen fled (they had almost 35,000 in Brazil).

If we talk about the dynamics of sales, then in the first phase of the top ten without taking into account the Russians with a good result (almost 14 000) were Poles. And in the second in the top 10 Indians got through (4500).

In general, permutations inside dozens in comparison with the last championship of the planet are not too big. In 2014, it looked like this:

1. Brazil - 1 363 000
2. United States - 197,000
3. Argentina - 61 000
4. Germany - 59 000
5. England - 58,000
6. Colombia - 54 000
7. Australia - 52 000
8. Chile - 39,000
9. France - 35 000
10. Mexico - 34 000

Past the World Cup-2018 flew the national team of Chile - this is certainly a loss. But instead of them - for the first time in 36 years the Peruvians made their way to the tournament. However, perhaps, Chileans are more valuable in terms of purchasing power.

Who will spend more

It is difficult to calculate how much the average representative of each country spends at the World Championships. However, before the tournament in 2014, it tried to make an authoritative Dutch financial company ING. She asked more than 8,000 fans from 15 countries the question: how much are you willing to spend on paraphernalia? The table of answers was as follows (in euros):

1-2. Argentina - 48
1-2. Russia - 48
3. Brazil - 40
4. Chile - 38
5. Italy - 32
6. Spain - 31
7. South Korea - 29
8-9. Germany - 17
8-9. Australia - 17
10-11. France - 16
10-11. England - 16
12. Portugal - 15
13-14. Belgium - 12
13-14. United States - 12
15. Holland - 5

Based on this table, the losses of the teams of Chile and Italy will be especially tangible for Russia. But the Dutch and Americans are not very generous guys. And yet it is difficult to build a linear relationship. Most likely, the loss of Italians and the Dutch will still affect. After all, these are teams, for which not only the compatriots are sick. In addition, the fans of Chile and Italy are great support for their teams in the stands and, importantly, are not aggressive.

On the other hand, the same Peruvians or Panamanians are able to spend in Russia everything they have on their accounts. It is difficult to predict when the next time their teams will break through to the World Cup. It is possible that their generosity compensates for the loss of European heavyweights.

In this regard, Latin Americans are unique people. Many of them have been hoarding for four years, only to support their team at the World Championships. It is no coincidence that four countries from there immediately went to the top 10 by tickets (plus Mexicans close to them in the football culture). But there are also nuances here - for example, the success of the promotion of the national team in the tournament grid. Imagine what will happen to the army of fans of Brazilians, if their team, for example, does not leave the group.

How much can Russia earn

According to FIFA, South Africa during the World Cup 2010 was visited by 309,554 foreign tourists, who left in the country 3.64 billion rand (almost $ 480 million). That is, on average, every fan spent about $ 1550. At the South African championship were almost all the top teams attracting fans. You could only complain about the lack of Swedes with Ibrahimovic. Note that according to The Guardian initially at the World Championships, based on qualified teams, expected to 750,000 fans, but the actual figure was much lower. Constraining factor was geography: in South Africa from everywhere far away. Even from African countries that came to that tournament. From Cote d'Ivoire and Nigeria to Cape Town - both from Uruguay, and from Algeria - as from Australia. But in South Africa, selected and New Zealand. Hit at the World Cup of North Korea - also not so hot as luck. Mass influx of fans from there yet can not wait.

Obviously, statistics would be cheaper, get to the tournament nearby Botswana, Mozambique and Namibia. But after their failure in the qualifying tournament in the third phase of ticket sales, neighbors for three did not scrape together 5,000 applications - after all, actually bought tickets are usually even smaller. But Americans reportedly The Washington Post bought 130,000 tickets at once - more than just the hosts. This is understandable: the US then not only made it to the final tournament, but also had a fully capable team - in South Africa, the Americans played a draw with England and withdrew from the group. And if the US team got to the tournament in 2018, the ticket figures would be comparable or even larger.

Portal brandsouthafrica.com compared the national composition of tourists who visited the country in June-2010 with the same period in June-2009. The study showed a sharp increase from several participating countries (15% from the UK, 74% from Italy, 166% from France). And the numbers instantly collapsed, it cost these teams to fly out of the tournament. But the successful promotion of the tournament grid in the last 11 days of the tournament caused an avalanche of fans of teams that retained the chances of the title. By the 1/8 finals, the Germans were more by 95.9%, the Dutch - by 33.1%, the Spaniards - by 196.9%. By the semifinals, the ratios have risen - from Germany, it has gone 109% more compared to the previous year, from the Netherlands - by 164%, from Spain - by a fantastic 415%!

In Brazil-2014, the jump in tourist flow according to The Mirror was impressive - 1 018 876 in June-2014 compared to 350 025 a year earlier, although the forecast was much more modest (600 000). According to Yahoo, each of them spent about $ 2500 in Brazil - almost $ 1000 more than in South Africa. CNN estimated the approximate costs of an average fan even higher - from $ 3,000. There was a predictable increase in the flow from the football countries. For example, 217,000 tourists came from Great Britain (78% more than at the same time in 2013). About 70% of all foreign visitors arrived on airplanes, 27.3% - on road transport, the rest - by sea.

In Russia, expect up to 1.5 million fans from abroad. At the beginning of June 2018, an application for a Fan ID (a document that gives the right to visa-free entry to Russia during the World Cup and is mandatory for visiting the stadium) was filed by some 600,000 foreigners.

Fans have long been eyeing possible spending in Russia during the World Cup. American Outlaws offered packages for fans at $ 5,400 - which, after deducting air tickets, means $ 3,500-4,000 spent in Russia. The site hullfinancialplanning.com assumes that an independent trip to Russia from Dallas with three matches (in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan) will cost about $ 10,000. Roadtrips.com offers 2 matches for $ 7645 with accommodation in a standard room and $ 9,585 - in " deluxe "(7 nights). On three games the prices are $ 12095 and $ 15395 (12 nights).

On tripadvisor.com advise not to spend the night in the cities where the matches will be held: "Be prepared that during the World Cup prices will be much higher than usual. What to pay $ 3000 for one night in Saransk, it is better to spend 2100 rubles ($ 35) and 2.5 hours - and spend the night in Penza. " The Independent told the story of a 18,000% price increase in some hotels: "An exclusive deal with the best price / performance ratio can be a tent for two in a field nine miles from the stadium for £ 63." In principle, the desire of small businesses to make money on the top tournament is completely logical. The splash in prices for accommodation and public catering has not been avoided by any country that hosts the World Cup. The question is always only in the degree of greed of the owners.