FIFA Approves Record Prize Money for the 2026 World Cup

The FIFA Council, which met in Doha ahead of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup final, made several key decisions related to both football development and the financial framework of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The main outcome of the meeting was the approval of an unprecedented prize money distribution for the participants of the upcoming tournament.

The total amount to be distributed among national associations will reach USD 727 million — a 50% increase compared to the prize money allocated after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Of this sum, USD 655 million will be dedicated to prize payments for the 48 national teams taking part in the tournament.

The winner of the 2026 World Cup will receive USD 50 million, the runner-up USD 33 million, the third-place team USD 29 million, and the fourth-place team USD 27 million.

• Champions — USD 50 million

• Runners-up — USD 33 million

• Third place — USD 29 million

• Fourth place — USD 27 million

• 5th–8th places — USD 19 million

• 9th–16th places — USD 15 million

• 17th–32nd places — USD 11 million

• 33rd–48th places — USD 9 million

In addition, each qualified team will receive an extra USD 1.5 million to cover preparation costs for the tournament. As a result, the minimum guaranteed income for each participating association will amount to at least USD 10.5 million.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino emphasized that the 2026 World Cup will be historic not only in terms of scale and format, but also in the level of financial support provided to the global football community.

It should be recalled that the final draw for the 2026 World Cup previously took place in Washington, where the 48 national teams were divided into 12 groups.

Group A: Mexico, South Korea, South Africa, (Denmark / North Macedonia / Czech Republic / Ireland)
Group B: Canada, Switzerland, Qatar, (Italy / Northern Ireland / Wales / Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti
Group D: USA, Australia, Paraguay, (Türkiye / Romania / Slovakia / Kosovo)
Group E: Germany, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire, Curaçao
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Tunisia, (Sweden / Poland / Ukraine / Albania)
Group G: Belgium, Iran, Egypt, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, Cape Verde
Group I: France, Senegal, Norway, (Iraq / Bolivia / Suriname)
Group J: Argentina, Austria, Algeria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Colombia, Uzbekistan, (New Caledonia / Jamaica / DR Congo)
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico and will be the largest in the tournament’s history — both in terms of the number of participants and the level of financial rewards.