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A member federation reached out to me recently about planning for the 2026 World Cup.
We started running the numbers.
Their appearance money alone — just for showing up — had dropped 10% in value since November. That's $460,000 gone before a ball is kicked. Before a player earns a bonus. Before the federation spends a cent.
Now think about what happens as they progress.
The further they go, the more they earn. The more they earn, the more they stand to lose if nobody is managing the currency risk. A quarter final run. A semi final. The final itself.
FIFA will distribute $727 million at the 2026 World Cup. Every dollar paid in USD. The winning nation takes home $50 million. But the USD is down 10% since January. That's $5 million in real purchasing power gone before it hits a federation's account.
Not lost in a bad investment. Not stolen. Just silently eroded by a currency move that nobody hedged against.
For smaller footballing nations that $5 million isn't an abstraction. It's a youth academy. It's three years of grassroots funding. It's the facility upgrade that changes a generation of players.
FIFA doesn't offer hedging guidance. Most federations don't have a currency strategy. And the players who earned that prize money will never know what it actually cost them.
The silent pay cut is real. And it starts the moment the money is announced.
A quick personal note.
This week I hit 5,000 followers on LinkedIn.
It made me stop and reflect. Because 14 of my 15 biggest posts had nothing to do with FX. And this newsletter sits at a 57% open rate. The emails that get the most replies aren't about forward contracts.
So I'm going to start sharing more of the full picture.
The footballer who became an FX specialist. The companies being built from a laptop in Thailand. The AI workforce we've quietly assembled in the last three weeks. The homeschool platform we're building for my son because we didn't love the alternatives.
The wins, the losses, and everything in between.
SportsFX is still my core business and I'm proud of what we've built. But there's more to the story.
If you've been here for the FX content, that's not going anywhere. But starting this week, you're going to see more of what's actually happening behind the scenes.
When it all clicks.
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If you earn or move money internationally and want clarity before the market decides for you, you can book a short strategy call below.
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For athletes, expats, property buyers, and global professionals.
Chris Broadfoot
Founder, SportsFX, Athlete Newsletter coming soon.