RIO DE JANEIRO: The 2014 World Cup is set to generate record-breaking revenues in excess of $5bn for world football’s governing body, according to audit and consultancy firm BDO.

The figure represents a 36pc rise on the $3.655bn made from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and is 110pc higher than the $2.345bn generated by the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

Brazilian newspaper Estado de Sao Paulo reported that the tournament’s “exclusivity” had contributed to increased income from television rights deals and sponsorship agreements, adding that the 2014 World Cup is also expected to contribute to a one per cent rise in Brazil’s gross domestic product for the year.

“The World Cup market continues to grow and the likelihood is that the trend will continue at the following World Cups in Russia (2018) and Qatar (2022),” said BDO spokesman Pedro Daniel. “Television networks that win the rights to broadcast the event pay a fortune but it is very good business due to the money they make from publicity.”

FIFA stated in January 2012 that it expects the 2014 World Cup to help generate profits of $1.2bn for the organisation over the 2010-14 financial cycle, almost double the figure achieved from South Africa’s tournament.

The governing body made a surplus of $631m over the four years leading up to South Africa’s World Cup, with 87pc of its $4.19bn turnover generated by the tournament itself.

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