FIFA is moving to increase financial contributions for all 48 nations competing at the 2026 World Cup, with the proposal set to go before the FIFA Council at a meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday, April 28.
The world governing body confirmed it is in active discussions with national associations to boost funding above the record prize pool announced in December 2025. A FIFA spokesperson told The Athletic: “Ahead of a FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on 28 April 2026, FIFA can confirm it is in discussions with associations around the world to increase available revenues. This includes a proposed increase of financial contributions to all qualified teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and of development funding available to all 211 member associations.”
The December announcement set the total prize fund at $727 million, with each of the 48 participating nations guaranteed a minimum of $10.5 million and the eventual winners in line to collect $50 million. The proposed increase would raise those figures further, though specific revised amounts are yet to be confirmed pending Tuesday’s meeting. A final resolution is expected by April 30, when the FIFA Congress convenes in Vancouver.
The push for higher funding has been driven in part by concerns from European associations, channelled through UEFA, over the substantial costs of competing in North America. Travel, operations and taxation in the United States, one of three host countries alongside Canada and Mexico, have all been cited as factors inflating participation costs beyond what teams faced at recent tournaments.
FIFA sources, however, have pushed back on the characterisation that the increase is a concession to external lobbying, saying the decision reflects the organisation’s own financial projections. FIFA said the prize money is set to increase, with the world governing body projected to surpass $11 billion in revenue in the current four-year cycle running from 2023 to 2026.
The prize money uplift comes alongside reports that FIFA trimmed more than $100 million from its World Cup operational budget as part of broader cost management measures at its Miami headquarters. The tournament, the first to feature 48 nations, runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
