FIFA on Tuesday boosted overall World Cup cash distributions to nearly USD 900 million following concerns over the spiraling costs for teams taking part in the tournament.
Football’s global governing body said in a statement that money shared between the 48 teams taking part in the finals in Mexico, Canada and the United States would now total USD 871 million, up from an initial figure of USD 727 million announced in December.
The cash injection was announced following a meeting of FIFA’s ruling council ahead of the body’s Congress taking place in Vancouver on Thursday.
The hefty increase comes after several FIFA members reportedly argued that the high cost of travel, tax and overall operations could result in them losing money from taking part in the tournament.
FIFA has now moved to alleviate those concerns, hiking an award of USD 1.5 million for “preparation costs” to USD 2.5 million for each of the qualified teams.
A payment of USD 9 million for qualifying for the tournament has also been increased to USD 10 million.
Further contributions for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations are also part of the overall increase.
“FIFA is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our member associations in an unprecedented way,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
“This is one more example of how FIFA’s resources are reinvested back into the game.”
FIFA is projected to earn around USD 13 billion from the current four-year World Cup cycle, which concludes with this year’s tournament, the largest World Cup in history.
FIFA’s prize money for the 2026 tournament announced last year had already shattered the cash handed out at the 2022 World Cup, increasing by 50 percent.
The increase in cash payments comes with FIFA increasingly under fire for the high cost of tickets to the tournament, while some local authorities in the United States have dramatically raised transport costs during the event.
Published on Apr 29, 2026