FIFA decides to raise the bonuses of the teams participating in the FIFA World Cup

The International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) has announced its initial approval to increase the value of prize money allocated to the 48 teams participating in the 2026 World Cup, which is hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

  The British newspaper "Mirror" stated in a report that this step came in response to pressure exerted by major national associations, which expressed concern about the high operational and logistical costs in North America, compared to the Qatar 2022 edition, which could expose the budgets of those federations to a financial deficit.

The British newspaper "The Guardian" confirmed last February that some European teams were concerned that they might incur financial losses from their participation in the tournament held in North America, as officials predicted that the costs would be much higher than they were in Qatar four years ago.

Standard financial package and pending adjustments

The final approval of these increases is scheduled to take place during the FIFA Council meeting in the Canadian city of Vancouver on Tuesday.

The improved package includes an increase in the "preparation grant" granted to each team, as well as an increase in the minimum prize money previously estimated at $10.5 million for each team leaving the group stage, amid expectations that the total prize budget will exceed the previous record of $727 million.

FIFA's ability to increase financial support is driven by a strong financial outlook for the current season (2023-2026), with FIFA revenues expected to reach $13 billion.

A FIFA spokesperson confirmed that talks are underway not only to raise the quotas of the qualified teams, but also to increase funding for the development programs available to all 211 member associations, thereby enhancing the fairness of the distribution of the historic World Cup winnings.

Prizes before the new increase

As of the date of the new decision, FIFA had set the reward for the champion at $50 million (around £37 million), with each team set $1.5 million in pre-tournament preparation costs.

With the expected new increase, the midfielders and runners-up positions are expected to witness significant financial leaps to ensure that no national association loses money from participating in the biggest tournament in the history of football.