FIFA increases World Cup prize money by over $100 million for participating teams

Verity Griffin / FIFA / Getty Images Share articleVANCOUVER, British Columbia — FIFA will award an additional $112 million to the 48 teams competing at the 2026 World Cup following concerns about the high costs associated with participating in the tournament. Soccer’s global governing body announced Tuesday that it will give an additional $2 million to each team — $1 million in “preparation money” and $1 million as a baseline reward for qualifying for the World Cup. Additionally, it said it would distribute “subsidies for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations totaling over $16 million,” taking the total increase to more than $100 million. The overall financial distribution to teams will now be $871 million, FIFA said, up from around $755 million when it was previously set in December. The FIFA Council, effectively the governing body’s board, confirmed the increase at a meeting here at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel ahead of Thursday’s annual FIFA Congress. In a news release, FIFA said the decision was made “given the commercial success of FIFA’s flagship men’s tournament, the World Cup.” FIFA expects to make a record $11 billion from the 2026 edition, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. (It will also feature 48 teams and 104 games for the first time, up from 32 and 64 previously.) The decision, though, also comes after some participating soccer federations, including several in Europe, complained about the substantial costs associated with this World Cup — costs that will eat into their ability to make a profit themselves. The Athletic and other outlets reported that those costs left some in danger of losing money on the tournament. Some European federations had asked their confederation, UEFA, to lobby FIFA for more prize money. But FIFA sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity earlier this month as the increased prize money came into focus, insisted that it was not a reaction to UEFA’s lobbying nor to pressure from elsewhere. And on Tuesday, the Council confirmed that the increase will be spread evenly across the 48 teams, rather than based on how far they progress in the tournament or based on where they will play their games. Their costs do vary by location, especially in the U.S., where tax rates differ significantly from state to state. That and the overall cost of operating in the U.S., one of the world’s richest and most expensive countries to visit, were among the reasons for their concerns. But FIFA will compensate all of them equally. Each federation will now get a baseline $12.5 million, rather than the previously announced $10.5 million. Round-by-round prize money will remain the same as announced in December. There was some uncertainty around the total amount, given that FIFA previously announced a $727 million total distribution. (A $112 million increase would have taken it to under $850 million.) But the previous announcement did not include the “subsidies for team delegation costs and ticketing allocations,” which at the time totaled $28 million, a FIFA spokesman told The Athletic. Tuesday’s increases, therefore, would take the total distribution to more than $867 million. But some of the subsidies also change based on teams’ progression through and experience at the tournament — hence the additional $4 million — the spokesman said. FIFA covers some day-to-day costs associated with World Cup participation, according to its World Cup handbook. The handbook outlines a contribution toward board and lodging for up to 50 people from each participating federation, starting five nights before each team’s opening match and up to one night following the date of elimination from the tournament. FIFA also puts money toward the cost of business-class flights for the 50-person delegation between venues and base camps, the rental fees for training sites and other items. But the teams must pay for everyone beyond the 50-person limit, as well as for things like insurance. Many wealthy federations will bring well over 50 people. Rosters include 26 players, and some staffs will be nearly double the size of playing squads. Some nations have also selected training sites from outside FIFA’s base camp brochure, meaning they often must go beyond the rental rates that FIFA has negotiated. FIFA, meanwhile, will benefit from the American market in that it will make record sums from tickets and hospitality sales. It has budgeted for over $3 billion in revenue from those sources, compared to less than $1 billion in 2022. In its news release, FIFA said that beyond the money paid to federations, “the balance of revenues will continue to be redistributed back into global football for the benefit of and through all of FIFA’s 211 member associations.” Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms