FIFA’s biggest-ever financial package means the team that wins the 2026 World Cup will earn an enormous payout.
Even people who do not closely follow soccer have probably come across coverage of the 2026 World Cup, which will be staged across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
As FIFA’s expanded 48-team tournament draws closer, the governing body has confirmed a record financial distribution for participating nations, underlining just how much money will be on the line next summer.
According to FIFA, the total distribution for the 2026 tournament has been set at $871 million, with the prize money for the teams themselves amounting to $655 million before additional preparation and qualification payments are added.
The champions will receive $50 million in prize money, while the runners-up are set to bank $33 million.
The team that finishes third will take home $29 million, and fourth place will collect $27 million.
On top of that, every qualified team will receive $2.5 million in preparation money, and each participating federation will also get $10 million in qualification money.
That means the eventual winners could receive a total of $62.5 million from FIFA, once all guaranteed payments are included.
Full prize money breakdown:
That said, the full amount does not simply get divided directly among the players.
FIFA distributes tournament money to each country’s national soccer association, and it is then up to each federation to decide how the money is shared between players, coaches, and other staff members.
The prize pool for the 2026 competition is significantly higher than the amount FIFA distributed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
When FIFA first announced the 2026 financial package in December 2025, the total contribution was set at $727 million, already a major increase on the previous tournament. In April 2026, FIFA raised that figure further to $871 million, increasing the preparation money for each team from $1.5 million to $2.5 million and boosting the qualification payment from $9 million to $10 million.
Argentina, who won the 2022 tournament, received $42 million, according to Sporting News. France, champions in 2018 after beating Croatia in the final, were paid $38 million.
The winner’s payout did not reach eight figures until the 2006 World Cup. That year, Italy beat France and earned $20 million, a dramatic jump from the $8 million awarded to Brazil after their 2002 triumph.