The winners of the 2026 World Cup will go home with $50 million in prize money as part of a record financial payout announced by FIFA on Wednesday, December 17.
World football’s governing body said the total prize fund for the tournament will be $655 million, representing an increase of almost 50 percent from the $440 million distributed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The expanded prize structure comes as the 2026 tournament, scheduled to take place in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, will feature 48 teams for the first time, up from 32 teams in the previous edition.
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At the 2022 World Cup, the Argentine Football Association received 42 million dollars after Lionel Messi led Argentina to victory over France in the final, which was decided by penalties. France earned 30 million dollars for finishing as runners up.
Under the new prize structure, the runners up at the 2026 World Cup will receive 33 million dollars. The team finishing third will earn 29 million dollars, while the other losing semi finalist will collect 27 million dollars.
FIFA also confirmed that teams eliminated during the group stage will each receive 9 million dollars. In addition, all 48 participating nations will be paid an extra 1.5 million dollars to cover what FIFA described as “preparation costs”.
The announcement highlights FIFA’s increased financial investment in the expanded tournament, which is expected to be the largest World Cup in history in terms of participation and global reach.
