FIFA reaches into its pocket
Dude, this is like when in the locker room someone says “I’ll provide the pizza” and everyone celebrates. FIFA has just announced that it is going to release more than $100 million in additional cash for the teams playing in the 2026 World Cup in North America. The reason? Costs have skyrocketed and no one wants teams to arrive with thin wallets.
The organization’s governing council met on Tuesday in Vancouver and made a clear decision: increase base payments to each federation by $2 million. Now the minimum is 12.5 million per selection. And be careful, because we are talking about 48 teams, it is not a small change.
Why this movement
It turns out that several federations, especially the European ones, told FIFA: “Look, with the current prize structure and the preparation costs that they set last year, we are going to lose money unless we go far.” And they were right. Because being in the United States implies tax obligations that do not exist in Canada or Mexico, and that weighs.
The total prize fund is now at $655 million, with $50 million going to the champion. But what is new is that support for previous training and expenses rose from 1.5 to 2.5 million per team. And the base prize also grew by one million, up to 10 million.
“FIFA expects revenue of at least $11 billion for the tournament”
More than just cash
Not everything is a ticket. FIFA is also going to distribute an extra 16 million in “subsidies for delegation costs” and more tickets for each federation. Because let’s be honest, traveling with 50 people to the United States is not cheap. They already cover round-trip executive flights, accommodation from five nights before the first game to one night after elimination, and even a fleet of vehicles.
But each federation has to pay for their own medical insurance and hotel costs for additional delegation members. As in life: they give you their hand, but not their entire arm.
To give you an idea, Argentina received 42 million for winning Qatar 2022. Now the total fund went from 440 to 655 million. Football is growing, and so are the costs. But FIFA is showing that it wants everyone to arrive on equal terms. That, my friend, is playing fair from the bench.
