World Cup 2026 winners to earn record $50m prize, FIFA says

The winners of the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take home a record $50m in prize money, football’s global governing body has announced, the biggest jackpot ever for the tournament, though still dwarfed by payouts at FIFA’s newly expanded Club World Cup.

The $50m prize marks a steady rise from $42m at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and $38m in Russia in 2018. FIFA said the total prize pool for the 2026 tournament, to be hosted jointly by the United States, Canada and Mexico, will be $655m, a 50 percent increase on the previous edition.

Even so, the figure remains well below the $1bn prize fund attached to the controversial FIFA Club World Cup held earlier this year. That tournament, expanded from seven teams to 32 and criticised for overcrowding the football calendar, offered a top prize of up to $125m. It was ultimately won by Chelsea, despite lukewarm attendances for some matches and resistance from players’ unions and domestic leagues.

FIFA argues the disparity reflects the fundamentally different economics of club and international football, with clubs bearing far higher wage bills and operating costs than national teams.

Beyond the headline prizes, FIFA said the World Cup would also channel substantial funding into football development worldwide. President Gianni Infantino described the tournament as “groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community”.

The prize structure was approved at a FIFA Council meeting in Doha. The runner-up at the 2026 World Cup will receive $33m, with $29m and $27m awarded to the teams finishing third and fourth. The minimum prize will be $9m, and all 48 participating nations will receive $1.5m each to cover what FIFA termed “preparation costs”.

In total, FIFA said $727m will be distributed to the national federations involved in the tournament.