Increasing the value of the World Cup prizes: $50 million for the winning team

The prize money for the FIFA World Cup is set to increase after some national federations expressed concerns about the high operational costs of the tournament.

The British news agency (PA Media) and the British newspaper (The Guardian) reported last February that some European countries expressed concern about the possibility of incurring financial losses as a result of their participation in the tournament held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, as officials expected the costs to be much higher than they were in Qatar four years ago.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has led a dialogue with national federations around the world on this issue during the recent period, and is now in the process of increasing the value of the prizes offered to participating countries, in addition to financing the development allocated for the World Cup for all 211 member federations.

Discussions are still ongoing about increasing funding, and an improved package is scheduled to be approved at the FIFA Council meeting, which will be held in the Canadian city of Vancouver next Tuesday.

A FIFA spokesman told the British News Agency: “Prior to the FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver, FIFA confirms that it is in talks with federations around the world to increase available revenues.”

The spokesman added, “This includes a proposed increase in financial contributions to all teams qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and an increase in development funding available to all 211 member associations.”

He explained, “The 2026 World Cup will be a historic event in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community, and FIFA is proud to be in its strongest financial position ever, enabling it to support the game globally through the (FIFA Forward) program.”

The spokesman concluded his statements by saying, “More details will be provided in due course, subject to the results of the discussions.”

Last December, FIFA approved a record prize money of US$727 million, distributed to 48 finalist teams, including US$50 million to the winning team.

Officials from European federations indicated to the British news agency (BA Media) last February that despite these record prizes, they have concerns about the high costs of this tournament compared to the Qatar World Cup.

These concerns included the lack of guarantees regarding taxes, which vary in the United States from state to state.

FIFA has now initiated talks with federations on all continents of the world in preparation for the finals.