A Favorite Game of Millions, Generating Billions in Profits
In articles about footballers' contracts, their loans, transfers, and especially about the budgets of elite clubs, seven- and eight-digit figures flash by, which are difficult for everyone to comprehend.
And it's not surprising to sometimes hear provincial athletes say that if they were paid that kind of money, they'd be just as good…
How Much Did FIFA Earn?
From 2023 to 2026, FIFA earned over $15 billion! This is double the revenue from the previous cycle of preparations for the 2022 Qatar World Cup, which barely exceeded $7.57 billion.
The main driver of revenue growth was match ticket sales, including official resale, from which the Federation earned a 15 percent commission from both seller and buyer.
Service revenue was also a significant source of income. Together, these two items helped push revenue to over $15 billion.
The most expensive ticket for the 2026 World Cup final reached $4.6 million on the secondary resale market, while official VIP packages and premium seats cost between $257,000 and $260,000.
The official maximum price for VIP suites and FIFA-approved seats was around $260,000. However, due to the huge demand for the final match between Argentina and Spain, prices on speculative platforms reached $2.3–4.6 million.
And the average price also remained at a record $11,327 per ticket.
Wherever you look, you'll see the pinnacle of financial success.
How Much Can a Football Player Earn?
Now let's look at the amount of money allocated to reward World Cup participants. FIFA initially announced that the prize fund for the 2026 World Cup would be $727 million, half the amount for the previous tournament in Qatar.
Of this amount, $655 million was planned to be distributed among the participating teams, with another $72 million allocated to national team preparation at a rate of $1.5 million per team.
However, three months ago, FIFA increased the total prize fund by 15 percent, bringing it to $871 million, as the tournament's commercial performance exceeded all expectations. The amount of payments intended to cover expenses during the preparation period for the 2026 World Cup was raised to $2.5 million per national team, a million more than the initial plan.
Furthermore, each of the 48 teams was guaranteed $10 million just for participating in the group stage. Add to this the aforementioned $2.5 million, which was transferred before the start of the World Cup to cover logistics, training camps, flights, equipment, and so on.
In total, each team, even those eliminated early in the tournament, received $12.5 million.
Any further progression through the playoff bracket only increased this figure. Thus, the teams eliminated in the first knockout round (the Round of 32) earned a total of $13.5 million ($11 million in prize money plus $2.5 million for preparation). The losers in the Round of 16 added $17.5 million to their federations' budgets ($15 million in prize money plus $2.5 million for preparation). Each of the eight teams that reached the quarterfinals, including Morocco, received exactly $19 million in net prize money from FIFA. Adding the initial $2.5 million for preparation, their total income reached $21.5 million.
So how much did the semi-finalists earn?
A considerable amount, it seems! After all, these are the four strongest football teams on the planet.
The semi-finalists' fixed payments were divided based on the outcome of their final matches. For example, fourth-place France earned $25 million. Bronze medalist England added $27 million to its federation's budget.
Tournament finalist and silver medalist Argentina took home a check for $40 million, while World Cup winners Spain took home the historic jackpot of $50 million!
To be absolutely clear (after all, the amounts are in the millions), the net prize money awarded to the four teams that advanced to the semi-finals should be supplemented by the combined subsidies of $2.5 million each.
The figures are certainly astonishing, surprising, and astounding!
But what percentage of these sums will the national federations pay to the players themselves, who earned this money in a grueling championship, involving long periods of travel between countries and fierce competition?
This question perhaps contains the most striking paradox of FIFA's entire financial structure. The fact is that FIFA does not officially oblige national associations to pay players any fixed percentage.
According to FIFA regulations, all these millions are transferred exclusively to the accounts of national federations (for example, the Royal Spanish Football Federation or the Argentine Football Association). But then comes the most interesting part – pure domestic politics and diplomacy.
Since there is no strict rule from above, each country decides this issue independently. Several completely different models for distributing this money have taken root in global practice, which can be classified using three of the most striking examples.
The Traditional European Model (Spain, France), or the "Agreement on the Shore"
The phrase "Agreement on the Shore" (or "Agree on the Shore") refers to concluding a fundamental agreement and clarifying all contentious issues in advance, before beginning any important process, undertaking, or shared journey.
This metaphor has entered common parlance from maritime slang. Before a ship weighs anchor and sets out on a challenging voyage, the crew and captain are obliged, while still on land ("on the shore"), to clearly assign roles, responsibilities, and, most importantly, agree on the rules for dividing future spoils or wages.
Failure to do so could result in riots and anarchy amidst the raging waves of the high seas.
In the context of the financial model of the World Cup, this means that there should be no disputes during the tournament, the figures must be clearly defined, and everything and everyone must be protected from scandal.
For example, the captains of the Spanish and French national teams sit down with officials from their national federations several months before the World Cup kicks off.
They draw up legal documents in advance, stipulating, for example, that if the team is eliminated in the round of 16, the players will receive a certain percentage of FIFA's prize money; if they reach the semifinals, the percentage increases; and if they win gold, they receive 45 percent.
Thanks to this "agreement on the shore," the players go to the World Cup with a completely clear head. They are focused solely on playing "chess with living pieces," and there are no internal disputes over money that can destabilize the team and ruin the atmosphere in the locker room right in the middle of the tournament.
This phrase, "Agreement on the Shore," perfectly underscores the pragmatism of the European approach—first, dry legal precision on dry land, and only then, the great voyage in the ever-turbulent fifth ocean known as Football.
In most leading European football countries, players and coaching staff receive between 30 and 45 percent of FIFA's net prize money. For example, the Spanish national team (as if they knew they would win the championship) agreed with the federation back in the spring that if they won gold, they would split approximately 45% of the $50 million championship prize money between them. This guaranteed each player of the "Red Furia" a personal bonus of over half a million euros.
The US Democratic Model – Absolute Equality
So, a "Democratic Model." Could America have had any other? The inhabitants of the New World approached this issue with their characteristic businesslike practicality and social sensibility.
A historic equal pay agreement is in place between the US men's and women's national teams. The national team captain and his teammates pool 80 percent of all FIFA prize money into a single pot. This gigantic financial purse is then divided evenly between the men's and women's national teams.
The remaining 20 percent of the prize money goes directly to the US Soccer Federation. Under the terms of the historic collective bargaining agreement signed in 2022, the US Soccer Federation takes this fixed one-fifth of the paycheck to cover administrative and organizational expenses.
This is too complicated! And what exactly are these administrative and organizational expenses of the US Soccer Federation? Where does 20 percent of the prize money from FIFA go?
Financial reports from public sources confirm that this money doesn't end up in the pockets of officials, but has a specific purpose. Specifically, it goes toward the development of youth and grassroots soccer, funding logistics and infrastructure, and social and healthcare benefits.
Half of the retained amount is invested in national soccer talent scouting programs, grants for youth coaches, and the construction of free pitches across the country.
The remaining portion goes toward maintaining training facilities, paying for flights, accommodations, and insurance for all national teams (including youth and Paralympic teams). It is from this 20 percent that the US Soccer Federation pays for expanded childcare programs for male and female soccer players during training camps, as well as for the pension fund for retired players.
For greater credibility, let's use some clear math from the 2026 World Cup. To fully integrate this model into a financial statement, let's consider the actual paycheck the United States earned from hosting the World Cup.
For reaching the round of 16, where the US team lost 4-1 to Belgium (surprisingly, even Trump's intervention, overturning a red card for an American player, didn't help the team advance to the next stage), FIFA paid the Americans exactly $16 million in prize money.
This pie was divided up according to the American formula, down to the penny. Thus, $3.2 million (that same 20 percent) was taken by the US Soccer Federation for the aforementioned purposes.
$6.4 million, or 40 percent, was sent to the men's national team fund and divided equally among the 26 players, resulting in approximately $246,000 each.
The remaining $6.4 million (also 40 percent) is reserved and will be paid to the US women's national team players who will travel to Brazil next year to represent their country at the 2027 Women's World Cup.
This is a remarkable example of socially responsible business in sports, worthy of emulation. The men played in the championship and deservedly earned money, but 20 percent of their earnings went to the foundation of the next generation, and 40 percent to support women's sports.
The Noble British Model (England National Team) - Football for an Idea
Why is the British Model limited to England?
The fact is that fielding four separate teams at the World Cup instead of one (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) is a unique British privilege. This privilege has its roots deep in history.
Football, in one form or another, has existed in ancient times among many nations. But it is the British who are the founders of modern football, having founded the world's first football associations. As a sign of respect for the founders of the game, FIFA secured this historic right for them back in the late 19th century, a right that remains to this day.
Since then, starting with the qualifying rounds, Great Britain has had four teams representing the United Kingdom: England (the only British team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup), Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. The England team has maintained a unique tradition of distributing FIFA payments, aptly dubbed "The Noble Tradition." The idea is that Premier League players, who earn colossal sums of money at their clubs, refuse FIFA prize money at the national team level.
England players traditionally donate all their current wages earned for World Cup matches to charity. However, the Football Association, also in good faith, decided to allocate £500,000 to each player from its commercial budgets, unrelated to FIFA prize money, should they win the 2026 World Cup final.
But it didn't work out. Since England only finished third, the players left the tournament without any personal prize money, donating all the team earnings to charity. Indeed, the British model truly lives up to its name—"The Noble Model."
Almost an Economic Summary
For A-list stars (like Mbappé or Bellingham), these prize money is more of a pleasant bonus, as their club salaries run into the tens of millions.
But for players from poorer federations (remember one of the biggest shocks of the recent World Cup, the Cape Verde national team), receiving even 20-30 percent of the FIFA World Cup paycheck is a colossal fortune, capable of changing the lives of their families.
The round ball around which our planet revolved for 39 days and nights is once again restoring social balance – FIFA gives money to the National Federations, and they use it as a social lift for their heroes. And now regarding what you can sometimes hear from some provincial athletes, that if they were paid the same money, they would play no worse.
This is akin to when newly minted young professionals apply for a job, the first question they ask is how much they'll be paid. But, in our opinion, they first need to prove their professional aptitude, not just wave a diploma, which isn't always a guarantee of their abilities.
In the next publication, we'll continue our discussion of the now-ancient World Cup. The topic, I tell you, will be scandalous...
Bekdurdy AMANSARYEV
