March 27 – This summer in the USA the rich will get richer after FIFA announced the prize money at stake for the inaugural Club World Cup. The winners will potentially earn up to $125million, making it the most financially rewarding month in club football.
Earlier this month, the governing body announced a total prize pool of $1billion for the tournament that will run from June 14 until July 13.
“FIFA will neither retain any funding for this tournament, as all revenues will be distributed to club football, nor will it touch FIFA’s reserves, which are set aside for global football development through the 211 FIFA Member Associations,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said.
Approximately $500m will be divided between the 32 clubs taking part, with the amount per club based on sporting and commercial criteria. How that is calculated is one for the mathematicians, however, as the likes of Manchester City and Real Madrid will receive a bigger percentage than the smaller clubs in a model developed by the boffins at FIFA in conjunction with European Club Association.
With a further $475m awarded for performances during the competition, should a team go all the way, which means seven matches, they’ll bank a maximum of $125m.
With clubs coming from all six international confederations, it is the European clubs who will be taking home the majority of the pot, as they will receive between $12.8m and $38.2m based on the previously mentioned rankings. Clubs from South America get a flat fee of $15.2m, CONCACAF, AFC and CAF clubs will get $9.55m, while Auckland City from Oceania receive a measly $3.58m.
“The distribution model of the FIFA Club World Cup reflects the pinnacle of club football and represents the biggest-ever prize money for a football tournament comprising a seven-match group stage and play-off format, with a potential pay-out of $125m foreseen for the winners,” said Infantino.
“In addition to the prize money for the participating teams, there is an unprecedented solidarity investment programme, where we have a target of an additional $250m being provided to club football across the world. This solidarity will undoubtedly provide a significant boost in our ongoing efforts in making football truly global.”
While there hasn’t been a great deal of enthusiasm for Infantino’s new plaything, these eye-watering sums of money will surely add some motivation to all the clubs participating in the richest month in club football.
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