FIFA has unveiled plans to distribute $355 million (about €300 million) to clubs releasing players for the 2026 World Cup, a 70 percent increase on the $209 million paid out during the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The expanded Club Benefits Programme, developed in partnership with the European Club Association (ECA), will for the first time compensate clubs whose players feature in World Cup qualifiers even if they do not make the final 48-team event, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
In the 2022 edition, 440 clubs from 51 FIFA member associations shared the $209 million allocation.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said the enhanced scheme “goes a step further by recognising financially the huge contribution that so many clubs and their players around the world make to the staging of both the qualifiers and the final tournament.”
ECA chairman and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi added that clubs “play a pivotal role in the success of national team football,” and the initiative rewards every stage of their involvement from player development to releasing talent for the world’s biggest matches.
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