Few sporting events capture the attention of the world in the way the FIFA World Cup does every four years. Thanks to the truly global nature of the sport, billions of people follow the World Cup, making it a very lucrative event for the organization behind it, FIFA.

According to the global footballing body’s latest financial report, it expects to earn $3 billion selling TV rights in the ongoing World Cup cycle, i.e. the four-year period leading up to this year’s tournament in Russia, the lion’s share of which (more than 95 percent) can be attributed to World Cup broadcasting rights. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was broadcast in 207 territories across the globe for a total of 98,000 broadcasting hours, which translates into more than 11 years of World Cup coverage and earned FIFA roughly $2.5 billion.

In general, the FIFA World Cup is a highly profitable event for FIFA. After the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA’s surplus amounted to $2.6 billion.

Source: Statista

The FIFA World Cup is not only one of the largest sporting events in the world, it is also a huge business. Mainly thanks to the sale of broadcasting and marketing rights, FIFA generates billions in revenue every four years and, as the following chart illustrates, enjoys a sizeable surplus after accounting for all costs.

Looking at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil for example, FIFA’s revenue amounted to $4.83 billion compared to just $2.22 billion in expenses. While TV rights ($2.43 billion) and marketing rights ($1.58b) were the biggest items on the plus side for FIFA, contributions to the local organizing committee ($453 million), TV production costs ($370m) and prize money ($358m) were FIFA’s biggest expenses for the 2014 tournament.

Interestingly FIFA set aside just $100 million for the FIFA World Cup Legacy Fund, which is meant to sustain the long-term impact of the tournament by financing infrastructure projects and other initiatives in the host country. Considering FIFA’s surplus of $2.6 billion, it seems like football’s global governing body could do even more to leave a meaningful legacy in the countries that set the stage for its biggest show.