Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that YouTube attracted more than 1.7 billion unique viewers globally to watch World Cup-related videos, pushing the total views of related content to over 200 billion. This marked the most-watched World Cup on YouTube to date. Additionally, CEO of YouTube, Neal Mohan, shared that the platform’s first Creator Cup garnered over 10 million live views and received more than 2.5 million views from creators providing unique commentary during the tournament.
US President Donald Trump commended the tournament for drawing over 6.5 million spectators, surpassing the combined attendance of the previous two World Cups. Trump hailed the event as one of the most successful sporting events in history, with fans from 200 countries attending 104 matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The FIFA World Cup had a significant impact on workplaces in the US, potentially reducing productivity by up to $11.7 billion as employees adjusted their schedules to watch matches.
The tournament’s global influence amounted to nearly $17 billion, attributed to increased absenteeism, late arrivals, and early departures during the competition. Data from UKG revealed that the highest work disruption occurred the day after the United States men’s team was eliminated from the tournament, with a 26% drop in office attendance and an 11.5% decrease in employee entries.
