The FIFA Council approved the distribution of the largest amount of money in history for the 2026 World Cup, confirming that the 48 participating countries will benefit from a total of USD 871 million (about R 16.5 billion).
The decision was taken on Tuesday, ahead of the 76th Fifa Conference to be held in Vancouver, Canada, on Thursday.
The money that each country will receive to prepare for this tournament has increased from USD 1.5 million (approximately R25.1 million) to USD 2.5 million (R41.8 million).
Countries that have secured a place in the competition will also benefit from USD 10 million (R160 million) per country.
Each country was also funded with a total of USD 16 million (R267 million) which will cover other expenses related to the maintenance of officials, tickets for matches and so on.
“Fifa is proud to be in a very strong financial position, which allows us to help our members in a way that has never been seen before. This is proof that what FIFA has is giving back to the development of football,” said FIFA president Infantino in a statement issued by the organization.
Fifa also confirmed that some of the money that will come from the profits it has made in previous years will be invested in all the 211 countries that are its members.