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The world’s most prestigious football tournament has started and fans from all 7 continents cannot help but contain their excitement for the next few days. It’s the pinnacle of any footballing nation and topping it off with a win on the final day is somewhat of a dream for many, while for others it’s a must. For participants, it’s recognition/exposure on the grandest stage of them all, and regardless of whether they take the title or not, they are well awarded a big sum of money based on where they finish in the tournament. So today, we take a look at how much each team makes from the FIFA World Cup:

How much prize money does FIFA allocate from its fund?

The fund to be used by FIFA for this year’s tournament is reportedly $1 billion, and the sum allocated as prize money amounts to $440 million. The remaining $560 million is set to be distributed by FIFA for various other purposes such as solidarity payment, Club Benefits Program, Club Protection, and Insurance Fee (see details below). This $1 billion figure has been significantly increasing every four years, as the current figure is 29% more than what it was in 2018 i.e. $791 million. The prize money allocation is also $40 million more than what Russia had four years ago. Since the start of the 21st century, here’s how the total fund generated by FIFA and the prize money allocation have looked:

As can be seen, even the allocated amounts for the prize money have been increasing every tournament. The $440 million is set to be divided amongst the 32 participants, where teams going out from the group stages will receive the least and the winning team will receive the most. The remaining sum of $560 million has been categorized into the following three slots:

• Preparation Payments ($70 million)
• Club Benefits Program ($310 million)
• Club Protection and Insurance Fee ($220 million)

DID YOU KNOW?

The English Premier League generates so much revenue that West Bromwich Albion, who were relegated from the EPL in 2018, earned more as prize money ($100 million) than the France national team that won the FIFA World Cup that year ($38 million)

How the $440 million is distributed

The distribution of the prize money is divided into two main categories which are:

• Guaranteed Payment: Received by every team that qualifies for the tournament.
• Performance-Based Payment: Received by teams based on performances. The higher they finish, the more prize money they receive.

All 32 nations who have qualified for this year’s competition will receive $2.5 million each as a guaranteed fee.

After the group stages, only 16 teams make it through to the round of 16. The other 16 teams that get knocked out will receive $8 million each. From the first knockout round, the eight teams that get eliminated will receive a total of $12 million each. In the quarter-finals, the four knocked-out teams will be paid $16 million each.

The knocked-out semi-finalists play a third-place play-off match to decide which of the teams finishes third. The team on the losing side will receive $22 million as prize money, whereas the winners of that match will be paid $26 million. The team that will lift the trophy in Lusail will receive $42 million along with the prestigious gold trophy, while the losing finalists will have to console themselves with a $30 million prize money.

This year, the prize money has seen an increase compared to Russia in 2018. That year, the winners France received a total of $38 million as prize money while runners-up Croatia was paid $32 million.

The bronze medalists Belgium received $24 million whereas the Three Lions received $22 million as prize money for finishing 4th. Quarter-finalists Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, and Russia were eliminated from the very round and earned $16 million each. The teams beaten by the aforementioned 8 in the round of 16 were rewarded with $12 million each, while the 16 losers of the group stage matches were allowed to take home $8 million as prize money.

It’s pretty evident that the prize money has been increasing in each tournament, and one can only expect that the trend will continue. However, this World Cup is the last in which the format of 32 teams will be used. 48 teams are set to participate in the next World Cup in 2026, hence it’s unclear whether the prize money distribution will be the same.

Where does the fund come from?

FIFA generated a total of $7 billion as revenue from their usual four-year cycle prior to this tournament. Breaking it further down, $3.5 billion from TV & broadcasting rights, $2.4 billion in sponsorship and commercials, and $1.1 billion from ticket sales and hospitality packages. Add another $890 million from licenses into it, and the grand total amounts to $7.89 billion. 

From that money, FIFA spent around $1.02 billion on broadcasting and administrative expenses, while it awarded $630 million to Qatar for organizing the upcoming FIFA World Cup and also for organizing the next tournament, expectedly the FIFA Arab Cup. Hence, FIFA has only invested a total of $1.65 billion. Thus, from the remaining $6.24 billion, FIFA allotted $1 billion as a prize money fund for the current World Cup.