All 48 competing nations to get minimum of $10.5m
Fifa Council approval comes amid ticket price row
Fifa has announced a 50% increase in World Cup prize money for next year’s tournament, with the champions set to take home $50m (£37.5m) as a reward for their success.
The news comes days after there was widespread public outrage over the price of seats at the tournament, to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Fifa this week announced a limited number of discount tickets for fans of participating countries.
After a meeting of the Fifa Council in Doha, Fifa said $727m would be shared among its member nations “as a result of the Fifa World Cup 2026™”. Of that figure, $655m would be prize money distributed among qualifying nations. The runners-up will get $33m and those ranked between “33rd and 48th place” in the expanded contest will receive $9m each. With $1.5m given to each participating team for “preparation costs”, this means each nation is guaranteed a minimum of $10.5m.
