La Jornada: El Tri’s advance in the Cup improves consumer sentiment: Banamex

The good moment that the Mexican team is going through in the 2026 FIFA World Cup is not only reflected in the celebrations attended by more than a million people or in the high sales of team shirts. Tri: In economic terms, it increases consumer confidence and helps promote the country in tourism, stated Banamex specialists.

Although the financial firm’s forecasts have not changed and it continues with its projection that the World Cup will only contribute 0.1 percentage points to Mexico’s gross domestic product (GDP) this year, there will be positive effects on some economic indicators in July, the financial firm’s experts said.

But not everything is goals in favor and unbeaten goals: due to euphoria, people miss work the next day, which decreases productivity, at the same time that prices rise in specific sectors, such as the hotel industry. “Without a doubt, the more and more Mexico advances –in the tournament–, the more encouragement there will be and this will affect consumer confidence,” said Rodolfo Ostolaza, deputy director of economic analysis at Banamex.

In a conference, he reiterated that the contribution to GDP will be 0.1 point or the equivalent of about 2 billion dollars, and “what the literature says is that organizing a World Cup does not leave a clear effect, it is not known if it is positive or negative. But if you win it there is a positive effect, the only problem is that only eight countries have won it.”

Guillermina Rodríguez, deputy director of economic studies at Banamex, highlighted that in these tournaments “greater consumption and demand for goods and services is generated, mainly in the host cities and in some other nearby ones.”

One problem is “absenteeism” at work: “It was very evident, for example, in Los Angeles: people stopped going to work. This can also somewhat limit the estimate of growth of the positive effects; therefore it is also not so easy to know what the impact would be in the event of an advance in the selection.

“Yes, there are ups and downs or there are counterweights that do not allow this possible growth to be measured much more clearly as soon as the selection progresses or not. In this case, a first measurement could be what we see in consumer and producer confidence in July,” he added.

Paulina Anciola, deputy director of analysis at Banamex, explained that with the World Cup euphoria, “people spend a lot right now, but it is likely that when the World Cup is over they will have to adjust their expenses a little and save a little more. That is an impact that goes up a lot right now, but then it will go down. Now in the aggregate of the year it doesn’t have much effect.”

Finally, he added, a positive point can be tourism promotion, since “it is a long-term effect that, the more countries that know Mexico, the more people are here on vacation, and a little more advertising can be done, which can bring greater growth in the long term.”