Tourney of the Golden Ball Insured for $9 Billion
Football has never been bigger, and this year's World Cup is expected to smash overall viewing records, owing to the growth of online TV and smartphones.
Due to the tremendous financial implications, football's world governing body FIFA, broadcasters, national teams and other firms with a stake in the tournament's success have taken insurance policies.
According to Lloyds of London, the world's biggest insurance market, the 2010 World Cup in South Africa is covered by policies worth £6.2 billion ($9 billion.)
Of this amount, a combined total of £3.2 billion is for the 10 stadiums, which are an equal mix of old and new ones specially built for the event. The other £3 billion are accounted for by various business opportunities linked to the event.
Chris Nash, active underwriter at Sportscover speaking to the BBC said, “Competitions, offers, prizes, sponsorship, broadcast rights - it's impossible to know how many there are, but all companies with these financial implications need coverage.”
A Lloyd's spokeswoman revealed that these indirect implications could range from broadcasting glitches caused by delayed matches to retailers offering freebies if a particular team won the competition.
"If the opening ceremony is delayed, that will affect the broadcasters, because they've got their advertising slots in place," she said.
The total, however, does not include the value of insurance policies applying to individual players in case of illness or injury. This amount can vary significantly since not all players in a team are considered to be of equal value. The insurance cover against disability for a top footballer can be as high as £40m, while the celebrity status of some players takes their insurance price-tag even higher.
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