FIFA to increase World Cup prize money by 50% for 2026

FIFA has announced a 50% increase in the prize money it will award to participating teams at next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

It forms the bulk of a record $727m (£544.8m) financial distribution that the governing body’s council has approved as a result of the tournament.

The winners of the event will receive $50m (£37.4m), with the runners-up being awarded $33m (£24.7m). Those who fail to progress beyond the group stage will get $9m (£6.7m).

In addition, each qualified team will receive $1.5m (£1.1m) to cover preparation costs, meaning that all participating member associations are each guaranteed at least $10.5m (£7.8m).

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said the payments showed the World Cup would “be groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community”.

The announcement comes a day after FIFA introduced a small number of £45 tickets for all 104 matches at the World Cup following widespread criticism of its pricing structure for the tournament.

Tom Greatrex, chair of the Football Supporters’ Association said: “The record prize fund demonstrates there is no shortage of money associated with the World Cup.

“It is not too late for FIFA to avoid the catastrophic error of all but killing what is special about the World Cup.

“They should act now.”

The partial climbdown was welcomed by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, but he also encouraged FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable.

FIFA’s council also approved the establishment of a post-conflict recovery fund “in line with [its] objective of promoting football’s unifying values. It said this followed “the announcement made by President Infantino at the Sharm El-Sheikh Summit for Peace on October 13, 2025 that FIFA intended to create a support mechanism for regions that have experienced conflict”.

“This financial instrument, which will be open to third-party contributions and be subject to strict oversight, will complement action already implemented under the FIFA Forward Programme and other FIFA initiatives.” (BBC)