The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday, June 11, to much fanfare, but one thing companies may not have considered is just how much it will cost them in lost productivity. And that number is staggering.
An estimated 5 billion people globally (averaging over 128 million viewers a day) are likely to watch the games on-screen or in the stadium—and employees are already planning absences or “sick days” to attend watch parties, according to a new survey from UKG (Ultimate Kronos Group), a workforce management software company.
The question is, are employers ready?
The study of 8,000 employees—across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Australia—estimates the FIFA tournament could cost companies a whopping $17 billion globally, including $11.7 billion in the U.S. alone. (FIFA stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Soccer is known as “football” in the vast majority of the world.)
“What makes the World Cup so relevant is that it reflects a challenge that organizations face every day: Work changes by the hour in frontline-heavy organizations, and static planning creates an execution gap,” UKG chief product officer Suresh Vittal said in a news release. “The World Cup is more than a global cultural event people want to be part of. It is a real workforce planning test that can strain performance, productivity, communication, and even retention if it is not proactively managed.”
Some 37% of employees reportedly plan to change their schedules to watch the tournament over the next five and a half weeks. It runs through July 19.
A look at the numbers shows: 27% of employees say they’ll probably miss work, either by coming in late, leaving early, or skipping work all together; 22% expect to show up to their job either tired or exhausted; 11% admit they’ll clock in hungover; and 14% plan to secretly stream matches while on the clock.
And, get this: Nearly 20% admit they would consider looking for a new job if work gets in the way of their World Cup experience. (Tell that to your boss!)
As Fast Company has previously reported, the mammoth soccer tournament is set to feature 48 teams playing over 100 matches, and will be hosted for the first time by three countries in North America in 16 host cities, including 11 in the U.S.: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area, and Seattle. The final match is scheduled to take place outside New York City at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on July 19.