April 29 – FIFA has redressed the concerns of World Cup finalists over the mounting costs of the tournament by increasing the preparation payment for each nation to $2.5 million and overall prize money to almost $900 million.
Several European nations had raised the alarm bells over costs related to hotel, travel and training in the United States ahead of the 48-team finals this summer and FIFA on Tuesday responded by raising the financial distribution to all finalists to $871 million, up from about $755 million.
The preparation money will be increased from $1.5 million to $2.5million and qualification money will be raised from $9 million to $10 million.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “FIFA is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our Member Associations in an unprecedented way. This is one more example of how FIFA’s resources are reinvested back into the game.”
The monies align with FIFA’s ever increasing financial distribution, not just during the World Cup finals but also as part of the Forward Program. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 32 finalists took home a combined $440 million. During Infantino’s presidency, FIFA has distributed more than $5 billion in development money under the Forward programme.
FIFA has budgeted for record revenue for the World Cup, with $3 billion projected to come from ticketing and hospitality alone. The 2027-2030 cycle is projected to achieve $14 billion in revenue.
The revenue and distribution model replicates the patronage system under previous FIFA president Sepp Blatter.
Next year, Infantino is expected to run for a new term. FIFA said the electoral period will start at the end of this month. At the 2023 FIFA Congress in Kigali, Rwanda, Infantino was elected by acclamation. The same scenario may be replicated next year.
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