The 2026 World Cup arrives with a record eight Arab nations on the team sheet. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria and Iraq. That is double the previous record set in 2018 and the strongest Arab representation the tournament has ever seen. Jordan qualifies for the first time, while Iraq returns after 40 years away.
The scale of a modern tournament is enormous. Organisers, drawing on an Oxford Economics study, estimate it could add up to USD$40.9 billion to global GDP and draw 6.5 million attendees across the US, Canada and Mexico. Whether the final numbers match the projections is another question. Host city hotel bookings have been tracking below early expectations, while ticket, travel and accommodation costs have become a sticking point for some travelling supporters.
For the countries involved, the prize isn’t necessarily the tournament itself, but the attention it brings. A strong run in the tournament puts a country in front of a global audience, generating exposure that no tourism budget can replicate. It builds tourism interest, strengthens national branding. The follow-on is how it can accelerate investment in hotels, airlines, experiences, retail, and wider consumer services.
Morocco is a clear example of that first-hand. They reached the semi-finals in 2022 and in 2023, the country welcomed 14.5 million visitors, up 34% from the year before. Football was obviously not the sole driver, but the result clearly helped keep Morocco on a global scale. The tourism and consumer spending that followed had an impact well beyond the final whistle.
World Cup fever is hard to ignore, and it extends well beyond the host cities. The effect can flow through hotels, restaurants, sports bars, airlines, broadcasters, streaming platforms, payment providers and consumer brands. Even though matches are overseas, fans will still be spending locally through travel, watch parties, advertising, merchandise, food delivery and hospitality.
That matters for the UAE and the wider Gulf. The region is already in the middle of a structural boom in tourism and hospitality, with the GCC attracting 72.2 million inbound tourists in 2024, up 51.5% from 2019 levels. The UAE’s own numbers show that momentum has continued, with hotel establishments welcoming a record 32.34 million guests in 2025. As we saw from the Morocco example, a strong showing on the world’s biggest stage should only accelerate that.
Sport is also becoming a serious economic asset across the region. Saudi Arabia has been the clear standout in football investment, but Qatar, the UAE and Morocco have all leaned into sport as part of broader diversification strategies, using it to attract tourism, build global relevance and deepen consumer markets.
The World Cup will not transform regional economies on its own, but it is a tailwind for sectors that were already moving in the right direction and with more Arab teams involved than ever before, MENA has a bigger stage. Morocco is also co-hosting in 2030, which makes this feel less like a one-off moment but more of a step towards the region’s growing sports economy.
