World Cup teams don’t just fight for glory. Millions of dollars are at play

While the ultimate victory in the FIFA World Cup tournament is claiming the trophy, many fans might not know that millions of dollars in prize money are also up for grabs.

The FIFA Council, the main decision-making and strategic body for FIFA, approved a record-breaking financial contribution of USD $727 million to be distributed to competing teams ahead of the 2026 tournament.

In Canadian dollars, that value sits at $1,015,824,741.

The increase in payout stems from the higher number of teams participating in the tournament compared to the previous 32. There were also concerns over travel costs due to having to commute between the three host nations of the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Prize money among the 48 participating teams will be awarded depending on placement as follows:

This serves as a 50 per cent increase from the 2022 Qatar World Cup, according to FIFA’s December 2025 media release.

Each qualified team will also receive USD $1.5 million to cover preparation costs. This means that all participating member associations are guaranteed at least USD $10.5 million each for their participation in this year’s World Cup, plus the participation cost, even when teams are knocked out in the group stage and regardless of performance.

In total, USD $655 million will be paid out in prize money by FIFA.

“The FIFA World Cup 2026 will also be groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in the media release.

How have these numbers evolved?

FIFA started paying teams which won the World Cup in 1982. Below is a breakdown:

FIFA does not directly pay competing players; it pays the federations that the players play under. It is then up to those federations to decide the total amount players are paid.

Canada Soccer and its national team players reached a collective bargaining agreement in March, the first collective agreement for the men’s national team.

Players are set to receive $25,000 per game in the group stage of both the 2026 men’s World Cup and 2027 women’s World Cup. Payments made to players will also be shared equally between the men’s and women’s teams.

The Canadian men’s national team went on strike in 2022 and sat out a match in Vancouver against Panama due to a contract dispute with Canada Soccer.

Canada Soccer also received $9.8 million from the federal government in May to go towards developing a National Training Centre, a proposed facility aimed at establishing a permanent, world-class home for soccer in Canada.

Like Canada, the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams also share their World Cup money, which is part of their collective bargaining agreement through 2028. Both teams pool and split 80 per cent of whatever FIFA pays at their respective World Cups.