World Cup 2026 prize money, fees to be increased for all teams: FIFA

FIFA says it is ‌‌in discussions with national football associations to increase prize money for all ⁠⁠48 teams participating ⁠⁠in the World Cup.

In response to requests by ‌‌European teams to increase prize money and to assist with costs ⁠⁠associated with ⁠⁠their participation this summer in the World Cup, the world governing body is set to fulfil ⁠ ⁠those wishes, it said on Sunday.

The proposal must be approved at Tuesday’s FIFA Council meeting, being held before the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada.

FIFA announced in December a record World Cup prize fund of $727m, with the winning team taking home $50m and each team receiving ⁠⁠at least $10.5m. Since that December announcement, FIFA ⁠⁠and national associations have engaged in talks and aim to resolve the issue.

UEFA, European football’s governing body, contacted FIFA after ‌‌hearing from several of its member associations regarding the costs of participating in the World Cup, including travel, operations and taxes, particularly in the United States. Canada and Mexico are the other host countries.

FIFA said the prize money on offer is set to increase, with the world governing body projected to surpass $11bn in revenue in the current ‌‌four-year cycle of 2023 to 2026.

“FIFA can confirm it is in discussions with associations around the world to increase available revenues,” a FIFA spokesperson told the Reuters news agency.

“This includes a proposed increase of financial contributions to all qualified teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and of development funding available to all 211 member associations.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be groundbreaking in terms of its ⁠⁠financial contribution to the global football community, and FIFA ⁠⁠is proud to be in its strongest ever financial position to benefit the global game through its FIFA Forward programme.”

The biggest slice of FIFA’s initial funding package for the North American showpiece – $655m – ⁠⁠was to be performance-based payments to the 48 participating nations.

Additionally, each qualified nation would be entitled to $1.5m to cover preparation costs.

FIFA’s 2025 annual report said ‌‌93 percent of its total budgeted revenue had already been contracted by the end of 2025, thanks to the success of the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup held ‌‌in ‌‌the US last year.

The World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.