- The US economy lost $11.7 billion in productivity during the World Cup
- US office attendance dropped 26 per cent after the US lost to Belgium, far exceeding post-Super Bowl declines
- Employers in host cities encouraged remote work to mitigate productivity losses during match days
The World Cup 2026 is set to end on July 19 with a showdown between Spain and Argentina. For weeks, football fans have been glued to their screens, cheering on their favourite teams and applauding performances from players like Messi, Mbappe and Lamine Yamal. But this excitement may have come at the cost of productivity in the United States.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 may have cost the US economy $11.7 billion in terms of lost productivity, as per a report by human resources software provider UKG. Globally, the tournament may have led to a loss of $17 billion in productivity.
The report claimed that a large number of workers planned to leave early, arrive late or skip work altogether to watch the matches.
The result was already visible this month. Attendance at offices in the US fell by 26% on July 7, a day after the country lost to Belgium. The decline in attendance was almost 10 times larger than the day after the Super Bowl, as per workplace management and security platform Envoy.
Knockout Tuesday Effect After US Exit
Not just that, visitor entries such as client meetings, interviews and vendor appointments also fell by 32%, almost thrice as much the day after the Super Bowl. Envoy dubbed the phenomenon “Knockout Tuesday.”
The absenteeism was highest for matches where the US team participated. Once the host nation was knocked out, workplace attendance gradually returned to normal even as the World Cup reached more exciting levels.
This is not the first time that big-ticket events have distracted workers, Bloomberg reported. Office attendance dipped during the Olympic Games as well as the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer in 2023.
Some companies have tried to get ahead of the World Cup's negative effect on productivity. Employers in host cities, such as S&P, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs encouraged staff to work remotely on match days in order to avoid commuting delays and traffic.
What Happens Post The World Cup Final?
Envoy has predicted that the high-stakes game could see a milder dip in attendance as the US team isn't playing. The firm predicted that absenteeism would be closer to the day after the Super Bowl than Knockout Tuesday, with workplace attendance around 1.87% lower compared to other Mondays.
The FIFA World Cup 2026 final will be played at the New York New Jersey Stadium. Defending champions Argentina beat England 2-1 to reach the final while Spain defeated France 2-0.
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