A record amount of 727 million dollars will be distributed as part of the financial awards of the 2026 World Cup, where at least for participating in the first round, each team will be guaranteed the amount of 10.5 million dollars, while the champion will receive 50 million. The announcement comes right after a wave of criticism against FIFA from fans due to the high costs of tickets for the first tournament featuring 48 teams.
Although FIFA boasts about the historic prize amount, the figures are far from the 11 to 14 billion dollars that the organization expects to generate from the World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada – which the organization will retain almost entirely –, double the 5.7 billion obtained in Qatar 2022, according to reports from the organization itself.
The projected profits for the entity led by Gianni Infantino are based on payments for television rights, sponsorships, and ticket sales, the latter of which have been criticized for high prices ranging from 60 dollars (1,077 pesos) for the group stage up to 6,730 dollars (125,960 pesos) for the final, although these figures have changed due to dynamic pricing.
Despite the record amount, the prize money to be awarded at the 2026 World Cup falls below what was given at the 2025 Club World Cup, where one billion dollars was distributed and Chelsea took 125 million as the tournament champion.
However, the amount to be given next year is much higher than the 110 million dollars distributed at the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia-New Zealand.
The football governing body detailed that of the 727 million dollars approved by the FIFA Council, 655 million will be distributed as part of the prizes among the 48 participants. This figure represents a 50 percent increase compared to the 440 million awarded in Qatar 2022, where the champion Argentina pocketed 42 million, while 9 million was given to teams in the group stage, plus 10,000 dollars for each player per day.
Now, just for qualifying for the World Cup, FIFA will give each federation 1.5 million dollars to cover preparation expenses, while countries finishing between positions 33 and 48 will receive 9 million dollars. This means all participating federations are guaranteed at least 10.5 million dollars.
Teams finishing between places 17 and 32 will receive 11 million, while those in positions 9 to 16 will earn 15 million. The football governing body will also give 19 million dollars to those finishing between 5th and 8th place.
The semifinalists will receive 27 million dollars, the third place will take 29 million, and the runner-up will get 33 million.
The Tricolor will seek at least 19 million dollars
Thus, in the event that the Mexican national team reaches at least the round of 16, a stage that had been their limit until before the last World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage, they could receive at least 15 million dollars. If they manage to advance to the quarterfinals, the round that has been the Tricolor’s goal since 1986, they could obtain about 19 million dollars.
“Hopefully the national team will have a good performance and allocate the resources it earns to the youth academies, looking towards the future,” said Rafael Lebrija, former official of Mexican football.
“With the prices they are charging, at least the teams benefit somewhat; the important thing is that the money is used and invested in youth academies, facilities, and good salaries for the trainers,” added Emilio Maurer, who was a member of the Mexican Football Federation.
Taken from CubaSí (with information from La Jornada)
