US-POLITICSAFP
Alex Labidou

Hundreds of clubs added to FIFA's $355M payments plan from 2026 World Cup revenue

Hundreds of soccer clubs worldwide will share in a $355 million fund from FIFA’s multi-billion 2026 World Cup revenues, compensating them for releasing players to national teams during the tournament. FIFA has long paid clubs for World Cup participants but announced this week that the plan now extends to players in qualifiers as well.

  • 'New approach'

    FIFA has 211 participating nations in qualifiers, outside of Eritrea and Russia, which have been suspended since 2022 from international play. 

    “This new approach means that any club that releases a player for a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier will now be directly compensated,” FIFA said in a statement.

    The $355 million allocation comes from a previous agreement with the European Club Association for the tournament, to be hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada. 

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  • Netherlands v USA: Round of 16 - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022Getty Images Sport

    Previous allocations

    In the 2022 World Cup, the payout was $209 million, with Manchester City receiving the highest amount any at $4.6 million.

    MLS received a payout of $7.2 million, which was spread out between 25 clubs. C.F. Montreal received a league-high payment of $1.04 million, with the Seattle Sounders next at $826,757. D.C. United received the lowest payment among MLS clubs at $31,000. The rounded per-day amount for players in the league was $10,900 - regardless of actual playing time. 

    FIFA said 440 clubs across 51 member countries got payments from the 2022 structure.

  • Record revenues

    FIFA earned a record $7.5 billion in revenue from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a significant increase from previous tournaments. The tournament was the most profitable in FIFA's history, generating $1 billion more than the preceding World Cup cycle. 

  • The draw awaits

    Qualified World Cup teams will find out group stage assignments during the draw on Dec. 5 in Washington, D.C.