FIFA ups payments to clubs who send players to World Cup

Clubs whose players go to the World Cup, or appeared in qualifying, will receive increased compensation this summer, FIFA, the governing body of world football, announced on Friday.

FIFA said it had increased the amount of money in its Club Benefits Programme to $355 million (306m euros). It had already announced last September that it planned this increase of 70 percent from the amount distributed for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

While FIFA does not give total revenue figures for the World Cup, it estimates that its total revenue this year will be 56 percent up on 2022, and for the four years to 2026, a period which includes an enlarged Club World Cup in 2025, it will have taken in 72 per cent more than in the previous cycle.

On the other hand, this World Cup is bigger. The field is increased from 36 teams to 48, the number of matches will rise from 64 to 104 and the competition will stretch over 39 days, against 29 last time.

Furthermore, clubs will be compensated for appearances in World Cup qualifying for the first time.

The total fund is divided into three parts.

A total of $250 million is reserved for compensation for players at the finals. FIFA calculated that the minimum payment per player will be $5,000 per day spent at the World Cup, “although the final figures will be confirmed after the conclusion of the tournament”.

These payments, FIFA said, “will be calculated on a per-player, per-day basis, taking into account both squad inclusion and the duration of each player’s involvement”.

Another $100 million is earmarked for qualifiers.

FIFA calculates it will pay $2,362 for each player in a match-day squad for the 905 qualifying games and for 10 friendlies for each of the three host nations, which did not need to qualify.

The remaining $5 million will pay administrative costs with any balance “allocated to the benefit of global club football”.

“This is another benefit from the expanded FIFA World Cup – providing more support across the entire football ecosystem to the clubs that provide all the players who compete to shine on the global stage,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino in the press release explaining the programme.

The payments are based on a player’s club registration when squads are announced but there are provisions for players who switch clubs during the tournament and for replacement players.