Ferran Torres' goal in the 106th minute brought Spain its second World Cup title, 16 years after its triumph in South Africa, and immediately revived the familiar question: does victory really make a country richer? The immediate reward is straightforward. FIFA awards the winning federation a record $50 million (€43.7 million) compared to the $42 million (€36.7 million) that Argentina received in 2022, from a prize pool of $655 million (€572 million) distributed among an expanded tournament of 48 teams. The Spanish federation decides how much of this amount to allocate to players, coaching staff, and the numerous support team, while the remainder goes towards covering its own expenses and development programs of the RFEF; taxes are deducted from each payment. Spanish authorities expect to collect around €6 million from the 17 players of the national team residing in the country; the bulk of this amount – approximately €4.4 million – will go to the state tax agency, with smaller shares going to the treasuries of Navarre and the Basque Country. Macroeconomics is much more complex. According to a 2024 study by economist Marco Mello from the University of Aberdeen, published in the Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, winning the World Cup increases the annual GDP growth rate of the champion country by at least 0.48% for two quarters after the final, after which the effect disappears, although the sample of champions in such a study is inevitably small. Apparently, the main driver here is not spending on celebrations but exports: its growth turns out to be five to six percentage points higher, as the championship title acts as a global advertising campaign for the country’s goods and services. ## What History Says About the Unexpected Bonus for Winners If this estimate is applied to Spain's economy, which is worth €1.69 trillion, the increase would amount to approximately €4 billion, calculates Pedro Santa Cruz, director of Freedom24 Iberia. He warns, however, that the FIFA prize corresponds to roughly the amount of GDP produced by the country in a quarter of an hour. The impression of celebration within the country is also misleading. According to payment platform Square, referenced by Santa Cruz, the number of transactions in bars and restaurants during the group stage matches involving Spain increased by 36%, with a spike of 66% in Seville. However, a significant portion of these expenses was simply shifted from other categories rather than representing an influx of new money. Celebrations for the victory are expected to have a similar effect: over a million people may take to the streets of Madrid to greet the victors. Spain's past experience serves as the most vivid warning against excessive expectations. The triumph of 2010 came at a time when unemployment was around 20%, and the economy was rapidly heading towards a massive banking bailout program, and the cup itself did not change any of these realities. Mello's study also does not reveal a noticeable long-term effect on growth rates in host countries.