FIFA, Olympics unlikely to directly compete for government funding: economist

As footy fans around the country watch the FIFA World Cup in Russia, the anticipation is already growing for the 2026 tournament which will feature games in Canada, maybe even Edmonton.

It is still a maybe, and Calgary is looking at bidding for the Winter Olympics that same year which could be another costly undertaking.

But do the competing events mean one may not happen?

Concordia University Economist Moshe Lander doesn’t think the Edmonton FIFA bid will affect a Calgary Olympic bid directly.

“The two events would happen six months apart, they’re technically in two different cities,” he said, adding compared to the Olympics, the cost of hosting two or three soccer games is relatively small.

“Olympic Games tend to quickly outrun their budgets, the typical 50 per cent cost overrun could very easily apply in Calgary once you start digging away and realizing we need to add this or fix that,” he explained.

He notes the biggest cost hosting any event is security.

“Winter Olympics aren’t quite as internationally covered as say the World Cup is, there’s not a corner of the world where the World Cup is not going to be a major event and so it becomes a major target,” said Lander.

While all three levels of government would need to be involved, Lander says the brunt of the costs for either event would likely be borne by the provincial government.

“The contribution of the federal government would probably be proportionally smaller than the requirement for the provincial government,” he said, arguing having the games in Edmonton would be huge for the city’s international profile.

When asked if the province would financially support hosting World Cup games in Edmonton financially, and if a potential Calgary Olympic bid factors into that decision, 660 NEWS received this statement from Minister of Culture and Tourism Ricardo Miranda:

“With respect to Edmonton hosting World Cup 2026 matches, we have received an initial proposal for funding from the City of Edmonton, but are awaiting a more detailed business plan that addresses the financial needs for a bid. While things are looking up – our economy is growing, and people are returning to work – Albertans still expect their government to spend their money in a responsible way. We will work closely with the City of Edmonton and the federal government on this in the weeks ahead.”

At the end of the day, the decision could come down to FIFA.

“If you feel that there’s a hostile government, rather than just an indifferent government, FIFA might use that as an excuse then to say alright then Edmonton’s gone, but given that only 10 games are going to be played in Canada, and given that it’s only going to be two, maybe three in Edmonton, the need to knock Edmonton from the list probably isn’t that great,” said Lander.