PHОТО: AP

The SAR will profit EUR 3.9 bn from the FIFA World Cup 2010, and this sum covered expenditures on the tournament, stated SAR Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan. He added the revenues could be conventionally divided into “direct” and “indirect”. “Direct” revenues include money spent by tourists during the World Cup. Gordhan said direct revenues exceeded the expected sums. The SAR government forecast 200,000 – 300,000 tourists to arrive to the country, but the actual number was 500,000.

It is much harder to calculate indirect revenues. The World Cup as an investment into the future. “The designed infrastructure will remain for the country. For example, the highways and roads will not be destroyed, but serve for the population in the SAR,” added Gordhan.

He also noted the general expenses on the World Cup equaled approximately EUR 3.5 bn, EUR 1.2 was spent on construction and updating of the stadiums. FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot stated the profits from the World Cup “make 90% of the whole FIFA budget for the next 4 years”. “This means the FIFA practically exists at the cost of the World Cup Championship. We hold other tournaments – women championships, beach soccer, junior and youth tournaments – at the cost of such profits. In addition, all assistance programs for the national federations, football development programs in poor countries – all those are paid at the cost of such financing,” added Maingot. He also stated the FIFA allocated US $1 bn for the World Cup 2010 and its profits from the tournament made up US $3.2 bn.