2026 World Cup: why Fifa will pay $355 million to clubs during the competition

The 2026 World Cup, which will be held jointly in the United States, Mexico and Canada, will see clubs receive financial compensation from Fifa to the tune of $355 million (around £265 million). This sum represents the fund allocated to clubs for the release of their players during the tournament as well as during the qualifying matches.

This system is part of the Club Benefits Program established by Fifa, the objective of which is to compensate clubs forced to release players for several weeks during their absence with their national team. For the first time, this program also includes compensation for players' participation in World Cup qualifiers.

Since the 2010 World Cup, Fifa has paid compensation to clubs based on the players involved, calculated on the day each player is present in the competition. In 2022, the total allocation had reached $209 million, distributed among 440 clubs from 51 different countries.

For the 2026 World Cup, the total amount of 355 million dollars is distributed as follows: 250 million dedicated to the tournament itself, 100 million for the qualifiers, and 5 million intended for the development of club football, after deduction of administrative costs linked to the management of the program.

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Clubs will receive $5,000 per day per player released from the date of availability for the tournament, until the day after the last match of their selection. For qualifying matches, each player called into the match group will bring their club $2,362.

It should be noted that the daily rate paid is lower than that of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where the average was $10,950 per player per day. This drop is explained by the increased duration of the 2026 tournament, which goes from 32 to 48 selections, and is considerably longer in terms of calendar.

The minimum time a player can be compensated corresponds to the duration until the end of the group stage for Group A teams: 14 days, or a minimum of $160,000 per player for his club. In the event of a final, the duration would extend to 57 days, for a payout that could peak at $285,000 per player.

This program, born from an agreement between Fifa and the European Club Association, aims to preserve the economic balance of professional training, strongly impacted by the absence of their internationals over such a long period.