Gov. Phil Murphy didn’t have any precise figures to hand out, as conversations are still ongoing, but the governor offered that efforts of the FIFA 2026 World Cup Host Committee for New York/New Jersey to raise in excess of $100 million for logistical concerns are going well.
“I feel like we’ve got good momentum,” he said. “People are buying the notion that, while the numbers may be big, it’s going to be in the category of, ‘Boy, that was worth it.’”
Murphy made his comments Wednesday, two days after seeing the impact of global soccer firsthand, as he led a small contingent that visit Germany for the final of Euro 2024 — the second-biggest tournament in the world.
The governor and first lady Tammy Murphy had numerous meetings with government and business officials during their brief stay. And, while the emphasis was on economic development, the World Cup kept coming up.
“We talked about the World Cup a lot in almost every meeting we had,” he said. “People get very jazzed when they hear that New York City and New Jersey have eight games, including the final.”
Those talks, he said, include World Cup sponsorship.
The catch is understanding which companies are available to New Jersey in a two-tier system. Global FIFA sponsors (such as adidas) are off-limits.
“There’s a very explicit division of what you can go after, what you can’t go after, which is very understandable,” he said.
“We have a way to go because (the host committee) is trying to raise nine-digit millions, but it’s going very well.”
