2026 World Cup: FIFA announces 50% increase in prize money
Prize money for the 2026 World Cup in North America will increase 50 percent from the total awarded to teams in the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
FIFA has confirmed the 2026 World Cup winners will receive 50 million USD in prize money.
The total prize money of $655million, which will be shared among the competition’s 48 participants, marks a 50 percent increase from 2022. That forms part of a record-breaking financial contribution of $727m approved by the FIFA Council.
“The FIFA World Cup 2026 will also be groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
How will the World Cup prize money be shared?
FIFA announced that the World Cup prize money will be allocated as follows:
- Champions: USD 50 million
- Runners-up: USD 33 million
- 3rd place: USD 29 million
- 4th place: USD 27 million
- 5th-8th place: USD 19 million
- 9th-16th place: USD 15 million
- 17th- 32nd place: USD 11 million
- 33rd-48th place: USD 9 million
Additionally, each qualified team will receive $1.5 million in preparation costs for the tournament, meaning that each participant will net at least $10.5 million.
The announcement comes just a day after FIFA confirmed a small number of World Cup tickets will be made available for $60 (roughly £45) in response to criticism of its pricing structure, which saw no ticket for the quarter-final and beyond less than £500.
Initially, the cheapest ticket for the final was more than £3,000, meaning any fan following their team all the way from the group stage to the final would have been set back at least £5,000.
The new “Supporter Entry Tier”, which FIFA says has been brought in after demand for tickets exceeded 20 million requests, will make up 10% of the allocation for each participating Football Association.
“With demand in the current sales phase achieving 20 million ticket requests, FIFA has confirmed that fans of the national teams that have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will benefit from a dedicated ticket pricing tier, which has been designed to make following their teams on football’s greatest stage more affordable,” FIFA said in a statement.
“The entry tier tickets will be allocated specifically to supporters of qualified teams, with the selection and distribution process managed individually by the Participating Member Associations (PMAs). Each PMA will define its own eligibility criteria and application process.
“They are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.
“In total, 50% of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely Supporter Value Tier (40%) and the Supporter Entry Tier (10%). The remaining allocation is split evenly between the Supporter Standard Tier and the Supporter Premier Tier.”
Yet, following the announcement of the huge increase in prize money, calls for FIFA to do more to make its largest ever World Cup more affordable for the supporters will understandably only grow louder.