FIFA World Cup’s financial 'failure' deserves an audit: Toronto City Councillor
Other councillors were outraged that anyone might rain on Toronto’s World Cup parade after Josh Matlow called it a money-losing 'mistake'
Author of the article:Justin Holmes
Published Jul 30, 2026 • Last updated 10 hours ago • 4 minute read
Nathan Phillips Square during World Cup
Nathan Phillips Square is seen on June 25, 2026, during the 2026 World Cup. Photo by Justin Holmes /Toronto Sun
Josh Matlow says Toronto had a blast but the World Cup was a money-losing “mistake.”
“I just think from a financial perspective, this was a failure. I think from a city staff management angle, they should be commended,” Matlow said Thursday, as he called for City Council to urge Toronto’s auditor general to scrutinize the “value for money” in hosting the soccer tournament.
City Council had received an internal report that estimates only 44% of premium tickets to the city-run Fan Fest had sold. Matlow said the city missed its target there, as well as the one laid out for the hotel tax, which had been hiked from 6% to 8.5% to squeeze a little more money out of the tournament.
“We have to get real,” Matlow said.
To help offset the $380-million price of being one of the 2026 World Cup hosts, he said, City Hall “resorted to, essentially, scalping,” buying up blocks of tickets for matches for resale.
Matlow’s proposal to ask the auditor to review the tournament passed 22-4, with Mike Colle, Vincent Crisanti, Nick Mantas and Anthony Perruzza voting against.
As the auditor is independent, the request is not binding.
The city’s own detailed financial reporting on the World Cup is not expected until early next year.
“I disagree with how it began,” Matlow said, “with respect to signing the hosting agreement before we knew how much the federal and provincial governments were going to contribute. I disagree with moving forward with hosting a big event when you don’t know how much money you’re gonna have to pony up.”
“That was a mistake,” he added, “so what did the city have to do? It had to scramble to figure out how to pull this together, how to offset that enormous cost of roughly $380 million.”
world cup 2
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates during a 2026 World Cup match against Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026. Photo by (Photo by Cole Burston / AFP via Getty Images)
‘Great party, great job’
Oh, but what fun it was, as the rest of council was sure to tell Torontonians.
Councillor Dianne Saxe conceded it wasn’t cheap, but she marvelled at the “absolute enthusiasm” at Nathan Phillips Square, where fans watched games and played soccer in the converted reflecting pool.
“We had a great party. We did a good job,” Saxe said.
“Yes, it was expensive,” another downtowner, Chris Moise, told the chambers, but how about when the Ghanaians came to Sankofa Square after their team beat Panama?
“We can do great things here in this city,” Moise said.
Perruzza, the councillor for Humber River-Black Creek, shouted that his son and his son’s friends were “enthralled” by the games, “the biggest thing that happens in the world.”
“How do you put a value on that?” he asked.
City Hall had initially put a value on that of no more than $45 million, back in 2018.
The price was up to $290 million by 2022 when City Council committed to hosting, but as operating costs ballooned, Toronto’s tournament budget grew to $380 million.
Matlow suggested that total is likely outdated. Mayor Olivia Chow disputed that, and said Toronto got clear “value” as a fellow host, Vancouver, had a budget nearly twice as large.
However, city representatives have hinted Matlow may be right.
Even before it had to hire emergency help amid a security staffing crunch in June, as reported by the Toronto Sun, the city was no longer saying the tournament was on budget, only that it was “committed” to that budget.
But, Councillor Michael Thompson told Thursday’s meeting, Toronto had the best venue at the tournament. Of course it didn’t break even.
“That’s not the game,” he said.
Besides, Thompson added, the $380-million cost wasn’t all paid by Torontonians – taxpayers from Ontario and across Canada got the bill too.
A photo of mayoral candidate Josh Matlow.
Toronto city councillor Josh Matlow told his colleagues they have to “get real” about the financial “failure” of hosting the World Cup.
You’re ‘awfulizing’: Carroll
His colleagues had less to say about spending. Alejandra Bravo rose to complain about U.S. President Donald Trump and “so much online crap” that gets said about Toronto.
“We showed Toronto in the best possible light,” she said. “This was a peaceful World Cup.”
Shelley Carroll, in an occasionally angry rant, repeatedly accused the media and many others of “awfulizing” both the city and the tournament.
“Torontonians have an ability to stop awfulizing at certain moments. And Sankofa Square, we stopped awfulizing about the FIFA tournament, and I dare say, I dare say, Madam Speaker, we stopped awfulizing about the name of that square, too,” Carroll shouted to Frances Nunziata.
“The Ghanaian community finally owns that name and owns that square, and that to me is one of the benefits that the auditor general better put in her report, because that’s a big win.”
Colle, the chairman of the city’s World Cup subcommittee, was perhaps the angriest councillor in the room.
His was the lone vote against all other motions related to the World Cup, including one from Chow that would do things like keep traffic cameras that were installed for the tournament, and another from Lily Cheng calling for a report on gender-based violence.
“You heard all the comments,” he ranted. “Oh! They’re going to charge 10 bucks for Fan Fest! They’re going to charge you for water! There’s going to be traffic mayhem!” (City Hall had planned to charge $10 for Fan Fest before backing off, and fans were in fact charged $7 for a bottle of water at Toronto Stadium.)
“They were wishing the whole thing would have been a failure. Every day, in the media, you saw, oh, the cost of this!”
“You heard all this doom and gloom,” Colle added, “and here we go today, they won’t admit they were wrong. This was a phenomenal success.”
jholmes@postmedia.com
Josh Matlow says Toronto had a blast but the World Cup was a money-losing “mistake.” Read more.
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