Soccer’s international governing body FIFA announced Sunday it’s working with national soccer organizations worldwide to boost financial rewards for all 48 teams that will compete in the 2026 World Cup.
The enhanced prize money proposal needs approval during Tuesday’s FIFA Council meeting, which takes place before the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver.
Back in December, FIFA announced that this year’s World Cup prize pool would jump 50% compared to the previous tournament, reaching $655 million as part of a record $727 million financial package for the event.
FIFA told Reuters the prize money is expected to grow even more, as the organization anticipates generating over $11 billion in revenue during its current four-year period spanning 2023 to 2026.
A FIFA representative confirmed the organization’s plans, stating: “FIFA can confirm it is in discussions with associations around the world to increase available revenues.”
The spokesperson continued: “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 spokesperson added.
Under FIFA’s original funding plan for the North American tournament, the majority of the $655 million would go toward performance-based payments for the 48 participating countries.
December’s prize money structure outlined that the winning team would receive $50 million, while the second-place finisher would earn $33 million. The 16 teams eliminated during the group stage were scheduled to receive $9 million each.
Each qualifying country would also receive $1.5 million to help with preparation expenses.
FIFA’s 2025 annual report revealed that 93% of its projected revenue had already been secured through contracts by the end of 2025, largely due to the successful launch of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup in the United States last year.
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to run from June 11 through July 19 across the United States, Mexico and Canada.
