Seven games of the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament will be held in South Florida, none in Broward County, but that didn’t stop the County Commission from including its name among the sponsors of the largest event in the sporting world.

The commission voted 8-0 on Thursday in favor of up to $2 million in sponsorship for the World Cup, part of which will be held at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami-Dade.

Alina Hudak, president and CEO of the FIFA World Cup 26 Miami Host Committee, told commissioners that sponsoring the World Cup would be a wise decision given how much the event will do for all of South Florida, not just Miami-Dade.

“Fans, teams and economic activity do not stay in county lines,” she said.

South Florida, not just Miami, was chosen as a host site, Hudak said.

“They evaluated the region, not the individual counties.”

Broward hotels will house two teams throughout the 33-day tournament, she said. Two practice sites are located in Broward.

“Due to the proximity of the stadium to Broward County, we estimate that 30% of the 700,000 visitors projected by FIFA (will) stay in Broward County,” the FIFA host committee wrote in a pitch to the commission for sponsorship money.

In all, even without the county’s official sponsorship, Broward hotels have contracted for 13,295 room nights for delegations and teams, not even including the fans.

But commissioners were cautious about throwing money at a sponsorship this late in the process without guaranteeing something in return. Mayor Mark Bogen and Commissioners Steven Geller, Alexandra Davis and Hazelle Rogers pushed the host committee to commit to specific events to promote Broward during the tournament.

Those details will have to be worked out in a sponsorship agreement, but by approving it ahead of time, commissioners gave County Administrator Monica Cepero the flexibility to adjust the amount based on what Broward gets in return.

For Commissioner Lamar Fisher, the question was never whether Broward would be a sponsor of the event, but for how much.

“This is the largest event in the world,” he said. “Let’s get behind it and be part of it. To me it’s a no-brainer.”

Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.