The Minister for Information and Broadcasting Zahir Uddin Swapon, on Sunday, said that the government’s expenditure regarding FIFA World Cup 2026 is “virtually zero” as revenues from advertising covered the required expenses.
“The broadcasting rights were purchased from FIFA for USD3.85m. The matches were successfully broadcast through four media outlets,” he said.
Previously, Bangladesh Television bought the media rights straight from FIFA through continuing discussions without the need for a middleman for just Tk47 crore in Bangladeshi currency.
“There may be a shortfall of around Tk30m to Tk40m for the entire event, but that will be fully covered by the advertising revenue,” he continued.
“As a result, it can be said that expenditure from the government treasury is virtually zero this time,” he concluded.
In contrast to the acquisition of the broadcasting rights for the Qatar World Cup 2022, the Minister emphasised more the transactions and transparency of the current government regarding the FIFA World Cup 2026.
