The 2026 FIFA World Cup, set to be hosted jointly by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, will mark a historic shift as the tournament expands to 48 teams for the first time. With the larger format, an increase in prize money was widely expected—and FIFA has now confirmed it.
The world football governing body has approved a 50 percent rise in total prize money compared to the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The total prize pool for the upcoming tournament will stand at $655 million, roughly equivalent to Tk 79.99 billion.
Record-Breaking Prize Pool for Expanded World Cup
As in previous editions, prize money will be distributed based on teams’ performances throughout the tournament. The World Cup champions will receive $50 million, while the runners-up will take home $33 million.
At the last World Cup, Argentina earned $42 million for lifting the trophy, while France received $30 million as finalists. FIFA has now increased those figures by $8 million and $3 million, respectively.
According to FIFA officials,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅.”
The total prize fund has risen by $215 million from the $440 million allocated at Qatar 2022. The 2026 World Cup will feature 104 matches across 16 venues, running from June 11 to July 19.
Guaranteed Earnings and Stage-Wise Rewards
All 48 participating teams are guaranteed prize money, regardless of performance. Of those, 42 nations have already qualified, with the remaining six set to join via playoffs.
Each team will receive a minimum of $1.5 million, while those eliminated in the group stage will earn $9 million, plus an additional $15 million allocated for preparation expenses.
Teams advancing through the knockout stages will earn progressively higher rewards:
- Round of 32: $11 million
- Round of 16: $15 million
- Quarterfinals: $19 million
The two losing semifinalists will also be rewarded, with the third-place team earning $29 million and the fourth-place team receiving $27 million.
A FIFA source noted,
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒖𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.”
With unprecedented prize money and an expanded format, the 2026 World Cup is set to become the most lucrative tournament in football history.
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