Money, Money, Money by ABBA is played out in this context but that about sums it up.
The Economist made a graphic to demonstrate just how cost-ineffective the FIFA World Cup—and other major sporting events—are for their hosts:
Football fans can hardly accuse Qatar of being tight-fisted. The Arab state has reportedly spent $300bn in the 12 years since it won the rights to host the men’s World Cup. It only expects the tournament to inject $17bn back into its economy. Much of that spending spree has gone into building infrastructure, including a whizzy new metro system built to accommodate the 1.5m visitors expected to show up to football’s biggest party. Organisers insist all the construction will serve a purpose even after the final goals are scored. They should hope so. As an investment, sporting mega-events are almost always a dud.