For the first time, clubs will not only be paid for releasing players for the football showpiece but also for qualifiers.
The move is part of a new agreement between FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA), signed in March 2023. The aim is to make the system fairer and more inclusive, ensuring clubs around the world benefit from their players’ involvement in football’s biggest tournament.
This is almost 70 per cent more than the $209 million shared after the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
“The enhanced edition of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going a step further by recognising financially the huge contribution that so many clubs and their players around the world make to the staging of both the qualifiers and the final tournament,” according to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
“A record USD 355 million will be distributed to clubs for the release of their players, and this reinforces our solid collaboration with the European Club Association and clubs worldwide as we all look forward to a groundbreaking and globally inclusive edition of the FIFA World Cup next year.”
Backing Infantino is ECA president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the experienced sports administrator who also serves as president of Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning UEFA Champions League winners.
"At ECA, we are pleased to have collaborated with FIFA to support the development of this innovative new FIFA Club Benefits Programme,” he told FIFA Website.
“It will ensure even more clubs across the world are rewarded for releasing players and highlights exactly how ECA’s Memorandum of Understanding with FIFA supports the ongoing growth of the global club game.
"Clubs play a pivotal role in the success of national team football and this initiative recognises every element of it, from early development through to release for the most important games.
“We look forward to continuing to work closely with FIFA, and the global football community, to ensure we keep driving growth and development of international football."
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup staged in Qatar, a total of USD 209 million was distributed to 440 clubs across 51 FIFA Member Associations from all six confederations.
The next edition of the tournament will take place from June 11th to July 19th, 2026, in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
