The FIFA World Cup, is the the most widely viewed and followed single sporting event in the world, loved and watch by billions and some numbers can show why...
Brazil, France, Italy, Germany, and Mexico have each hosted twice, while Uruguay, Switzerland, Sweden, Chile, England, Argentina, Spain, the United States, Japan and South Korea (jointly), South Africa, and Russia have each hosted once.
Qatar will host the 2022 tournament, and 2026 will be jointly hosted by Canada, the United States, and Mexico, which will give Mexico the distinction of being the first country to host games in three World Cups.
World Cup attendence by edition:
Source: FIFA.com - Web archive
The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely viewed and followed sporting event in the world. The cumulative viewership of all matches of the 2006 World Cup was estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of the tournament, almost a ninth of the entire population of the planet.
Source: FIFA.com - Web archive
Global viewership for major sporting events in 2014:
Source: statista.com
The number of instagram followers from football superstars compare to other big celebrities:
Source: Social Tracker - Top Instagram Users Most followers
The World Cup attracts many sponsors such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Adidas. For these companies and many more, being a sponsor strongly impacts their global brands. Host countries typically experience a multimillion-dollar revenue increase from the month-long event. The governing body of the sport, FIFA, generated $4.8 billion in revenue from the 2014 tournament, and $6.1 billion from the 2018 tournament.
Source: FIFA.com - Web archive