Global football generates money far beyond the pitch. When viewers watch a World Cup or continental championship, broadcasting rights, advertising, sponsorship and ticket receipts flow through rights-holding organisations before reaching member associations, clubs, event organisers and contractors. The tougher question is not who earns the most, but which authorities actually receive the taxes.
FIFA oversees the global game. Its six continental confederations are UEFA, AFC, CONMEBOL, CONCACAF, CAF and OFC. They are separate organisations, use different reporting periods, and may enjoy nonprofit status or exemptions under local law. Large rights sales do not automatically imply an equally large corporation-tax bill.
Using annual reports, audited statements and tax documents available as at 15 October 2026, this analysis compares each body across three reporting periods. Where a verified tax figure or a complete annual statement is unavailable, the gap remains visible. FIFA revenue is not added to confederation totals because transfers between bodies can otherwise be counted twice.
Where global football governing bodies earn their money
Their income has three main sources. First come broadcasting and commercial rights, including television, sponsors and event branding. Next come ticket sales, hospitality and event-related rights. A third category includes FIFA or other grants, interest, fees and miscellaneous receipts, often especially important to smaller confederations.
Revenue is not profit and does not necessarily remain in the head-office country. A FIFA grant may become income again in a recipient confederation's accounts. To avoid double counting, each organisation must therefore be analysed separately.
FIFA revenue follows the World Cup cycle
Headquartered in Switzerland, FIFA recognises media and marketing income in accordance with rights agreements and its tournament calendar. The men's World Cup takes place every four years, creating sharp revenue swings. Comparing a year without the tournament, such as 2024, with a major event year requires care.
The statements must be read on both an accrual basis and a cash basis. In the table below, the first tax figure is taxes and duties recognised as an expense; the second is the amount paid in cash.
| Calendar year | Total revenue and other income | Taxes and duties expense / cash paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,169.649 million USD | Expense 0.495 million USD / cash paid 16.464 million USD |
| 2024 | 482.666 million USD | Expense 0.903 million USD / cash paid 6.061 million USD |
| 2025 | 2,661.404 million USD | Expense 6.443 million USD / cash paid 3.769 million USD |
The expense and cash-payment figures measure different things. A larger cash tax payment than expense in 2023 reflects different settlement timing, not a uniform tax rate. FIFA does not disclose in these figures how much went to Switzerland versus host nations. In 2025, broadcasting rights brought in 1,044.451 million USD, marketing rights 964.975 million USD, and tickets and hospitality 410.496 million USD. Gross receipts are not taxable profit.
UEFA depends on club competitions and national tournaments
UEFA is also based in Switzerland, but its club competitions run across Europe every season. Champions League and other club rights provide relatively regular inflows, while a UEFA EURO tournament can lift revenue sharply in a tournament year.
| Financial season | Total revenue | Separately confirmed cash tax |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 – 2023 | 4,320.8 million EUR (4,672.1 million USD) | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2023 – 2024 | 6,776.6 million EUR (7,335.0 million USD) | Finance and taxes reported together |
| 2024 – 2025 | 5,014.2 million EUR (5,666.0 million USD) | Finance and taxes reported together |
For 2024/25, UEFA recorded media rights of 4,064.8 million EUR (4,593.2 million USD) and commercial rights of 786.9 million EUR (889.2 million USD). It distributed 3,860.7 million EUR (4,362.6 million USD) to participating clubs. Its accounts group financial items and taxes in one line, making a separate tax-paid figure impossible to extract.
AFC combines media rights, sponsorship and FIFA funding
Based in Malaysia, the Asian Football Confederation earns media-rights and sponsorship income from national and club competitions and receives FIFA Forward funding.
| Calendar year | Reported total income | Tax disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | approximately 266.0 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2024 | 312.356 million USD | Taxation shown as a dash |
| 2025 | 292.723 million USD | Taxation shown as a dash |
The AFC 2025 report describes an exemption from Malaysian income tax. The dash in the 2024 and 2025 taxation line does not prove that no VAT, withholding tax or foreign event taxes arose.
Copa América makes CONMEBOL revenue jump
CONMEBOL, headquartered in Paraguay, commercialises the Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana and Copa América. Revenue increased markedly in 2024, when Copa América was hosted in the United States.
| Calendar year | Reported revenue | Verified tax paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | approximately 520 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2024 | approximately 869 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2025 | approximately 560 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
Holding headquarters in Paraguay does not give Paraguay all tax revenue from a Copa América staged in the United States. Ticket sales, employment and local commercial activity can fall under the host country’s laws.
CONCACAF discloses revenue through US tax filings
CONCACAF maintains offices in the United States and files publicly available Form 990 returns under its tax-exempt 501(c)(6) status. Those returns disclose revenue; they are not a standalone record of every tax payment.
| Tax year | Form 990 revenue | Separately identifiable income tax |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 62.193 million USD | Not identifiable from Form 990 |
| 2023 | 254.273 million USD | Not identifiable from Form 990 |
| 2024 | 135.099 million USD | Not identifiable from Form 990 |
An income-tax exemption does not automatically remove payroll taxes or taxes on commercial activities outside the exemption.
CAF reports two audited years and one provisional year
CAF is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt. AFCON competition rights and FIFA support are major income sources. The last of the three periods below is a provisional, unaudited figure and must not be presented as audited performance.
| Fiscal year to June | Total income | Verified tax paid |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 – 2023 | 109.024 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2023 – 2024 | 166.421 million USD | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2024 – 2025 | approximately 88.8 million USD (unaudited) | No separately verified cash tax amount |
Taxes generated by African tournaments may also accrue to the host countries, not exclusively to Egypt.
OFC relies heavily on FIFA support
OFC is incorporated in New Zealand and relies more heavily on FIFA grants than the larger commercial confederations. The public documents reviewed confirm 2024 and 2025, but do not establish the 2023 revenue amount.
| Calendar year | Total revenue | Tax disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2023 audited amount not verified | No separately verified cash tax amount |
| 2024 | 33.657 million NZD (20.36 million USD) | Taxation shown as a dash |
| 2025 | 37.707 million NZD (21.95 million USD) | Taxation shown as a dash |
New Zealand law permits income-tax exemptions for certain organisations promoting amateur sport. Nevertheless, OFC recorded net GST cash payments of 54,440 NZD (32,936 USD) in 2024 and 78,891 NZD (45,930 USD) in 2025. GST is not corporation income tax.
Which governments can collect tax on football income?
Where a tax arises depends on where the taxable activity takes place, not simply on the location of a governing body's headquarters.
- Head-office jurisdictions such as Switzerland, Malaysia, Paraguay, the United States, Egypt and New Zealand may apply local rules to associations or other legal entities.
- Tournament hosts may collect VAT or GST on taxable tickets, accommodation and other supplies, employment-related taxes and withholding tax where local law applies.
- Sponsors' and broadcasters' jurisdictions may have relevant corporate-tax deductions and cross-border withholding obligations. Such deductions are not themselves government tax receipts.
- Countries of member associations and clubs may collect taxes on salaries and downstream commercial spending financed by distributions.
Determining what any one treasury received requires country-by-country, tax-by-tax evidence. The published reports of these seven organisations do not provide a complete consolidated breakdown.
Why three-year comparisons require caution
FIFA and AFC report by calendar year, UEFA and CAF by competition-related financial periods, and CONCACAF by tax-filing year. Definitions of income also differ, and grants loom larger in smaller confederations. These amounts should not be ranked as though they describe the same economic activity.
The article uses annual average exchange rates as comparison aids, not actual transaction rates. EUR/USD is 1.0813 for 2023, 1.0824 for 2024 and 1.1300 for 2025; NZD/USD is 0.6050 for 2024 and 0.5822 for 2025.
Key Insight Football rights revenue crosses borders, but taxes do not follow every payment at one universal rate. Head-office countries, host nations and payment-receiving jurisdictions may levy different taxes. A zero or unreported corporation-tax expense in a governing body’s accounts is not proof that football generated no tax revenue anywhere.
Recap FIFA and the six confederations have different revenue streams, accounting calendars and tax privileges. Understanding who benefits requires separating organisational income tax, indirect taxes and taxes generated by hosting events. Keeping different accounting bases and unverified figures distinct is essential to a credible global comparison.
