The World Cup final between Spain and Argentina will decide not only footballing supremacy on the planet, but also the distribution of the largest prize money ever awarded in the sport.
The winning national team celebrating at MetLife Stadium will collect from FIFA the astronomical sum of 50 million dollars (approximately 43.71 million euros). The amount marks a historic high, standing 8 million dollars higher than what Argentina received for its title in Qatar in 2022, and 20 million more than the money Spain took home when it won its first World Cup in 2010.
Rewards at every level
The tournament's financial generosity extends across all tiers of the final phase. The team defeated in the final will console itself with the far from negligible sum of 33 million dollars. Correspondingly, the national team finishing third in the third-place playoff will receive 29 million dollars, while the fourth-placed finalist will leave the tournament with 27 million dollars.
The millions of the final come on top of the fixed revenues secured by the world governing body for each federation simply for participating in the tournament. After the World Cup's expansion to 48 national teams, FIFA decided to increase the total support budget by 15 per cent, reaching an overall sum of 871 million dollars.
Thus, every football federation automatically received 10 million dollars for qualifying, 2.5 million for preparation costs, plus additional support for the delegation's accommodation and tickets, bringing the guaranteed starting amount to 16 million dollars per team.
The clubs cash in too
The clubs could not be absent from this financial dance of billions. FIFA compensates teams with 11,000 euros for every day they release a player to national team duty.
Given that Atletico Madrid and Barcelona dominate the final, with nine and eight finalists respectively in the Spain and Argentina squads, they emerge as the big winners at club level, cashing in on their investment in the world's finest players in the best possible way.
Source: in.gr
