Huge increase in World Cup rewards

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) has raised the total amount of money distributed in next summer's World Cup to nearly $900 million, following concerns about the increasing costs borne by the teams participating in the finals scheduled in North America.

The Federation said in a statement on Tuesday that the total amount of money that will be distributed to the 48 teams participating in the finals scheduled in the United States, Mexico and Canada has now reached $871 million, compared to an initial amount of $727 million announced in December.

The announcement of this increase came after a meeting of the FIFA Council before the General Assembly was held in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday.

The large increase comes after reports indicated that a number of FIFA members complained that the high costs of travel, taxes and operational expenses might lead to them incurring losses as a result of participating in the tournament.

FIFA was quick to alleviate these concerns, raising the “preparation costs” grant from $1.5 million to $2.5 million for each qualified team.

The bonus for qualifying for the tournament also increased from $9 million to $10 million.

The total increase also includes additional contributions to the costs of team delegations and an increase in team ticket allocations.

Swiss-Italian FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement: “FIFA is proud to be in the strongest financial position in its history, which allows us to help all member associations in an unprecedented way,” and added: “This is another example of how FIFA’s resources are reinvested in the game.”

FIFA is expected to generate about $13 billion from the current four-year World Cup cycle, which concludes with this year’s finals, which will be the largest in history with 48 teams participating for the first time.

The value of the prize money allocated for the 2026 edition, which was announced last year, exceeds what was offered in the 2022 World Cup, with an increase of 50 percent.

The increase in payments comes at a time when FIFA is under increasing criticism due to the high prices of tickets for the finals, while some local authorities in the United States have significantly increased transportation costs during the event.