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≡ 2024 FINANCIAL BONANZA ≡
A spectacular financial report for World Aquatics, released on Tuesday for the federation Congress in Singapore, shows the federation with $107.83 million in 2024 revenues, a surplus of $51.17 million for the year and $241.51 million in assets.
Wow.
In 2024, the federation had an unprecedented set of circumstances which generated enormous revenues:
● $67.76 million in hosting and commercial revenue
● $38.86 million in Olympic Movement revenue
● $1.21 million in other income
● $107.83 million total operating revenue
The expenses:
● $28.71 million in development and athlete support
● $22.81 million in event expenses
● $10.80 million in administration costs
● $3.74 million in anti-doping expenses
● $1.50 million in legal costs
● $1.48 million in other expenses
● $69.04 million total operating expenses
That leaves $38.79 million in operating income for 2024; World Aquatics also enjoyed $8.29 million in investment income and a transfer of $4.08 million from the federation’s capital reserves, bringing the yearly surplus to a glossy $51.17 million.
The key to this bonanza was the presence in 2024 of both an Olympic Games and a World Aquatics Championships, something which had never happened before:
● World Aquatics, as a tier-one federation along with World Athletics and the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique, received $37.84 million from the International Olympic Committee as its share of the Paris 2024 Olympic television rights sales.
● World Aquatics had two of its major events in 2024, with the World Aquatics Championships on Doha in February bringing in $50.06 million in fees, TV rights, sponsorships and in-kind value, the World Short-Course swimming champs in December in Budapest (HUN) earning $10.90 million and other events, $6.81 million, for a $67.76 million total.
(For those thinking about a future World Aquatics Championships in the U.S., World Aquatics received $27.64 million in host-city partnerships and fees for Doha 2024; the fees for Fukuoka 2023 were $26.50 million. World Aquatics Championships have been attributed to Budapest for 2027 and Beijing (CHN) for 2029.)
The balance sheet is impressive:
● $241.15 million in assets, up from $191.51 million in 2023.
● $167.88 million in reserves, up from $120.80 million in 2023.
● $36.92 million in deferred income, meaning the cash is in hand, but the event to which this money applies is in the future.
All of these totals – income, assets and reserves – are all records for World Aquatics, and one of the best financial performances by any International Federation ever, outside of football behemoth FIFA.
The statements are being presented to the World Aquatics Congress for approval in Singapore, where they are expected to be welcomed by the delegates.
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