FIFA announces record prize money, Champions to get Tk 616 crore

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had promised before the tournament that this World Cup would be the biggest edition of football's grandest event in its 96-year history. That promise has been fully realised on the field. This World Cup has more teams and more matches than any previous edition. Naturally, the goal fest and the number of host cities have also surpassed all past records.

With the expansion of the World Cup, FIFA's revenue has also increased. The mega final is just a day away. The participating teams in this edition are being offered a record amount of prize money.

Sports media outlet 'The Athletic' has published a special report on the details of the World Cup prize money and how much the champions will receive.

Last December, FIFA announced a record prize fund of $65.5 million (over Tk 8,000 crore) for this edition, which is nearly 50 percent more than the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The winners of the mega final, the world champions, will receive $5 million (over Tk 616 crore). The runners-up will take home $3.3 million (Tk 406 crore).

Spain and Argentina will face off in Sunday's final. The winners will get $5 million, while the runners-up will receive $3.3 million.

Before the final, France and England will face each other in the third-place play-off today. The winners will get $2.9 million (approximately Tk 357 crore), and the losing team will receive $2.7 million (Tk 333 crore).

The teams eliminated in the quarter-finals – Morocco, Belgium, Norway and Switzerland – will each receive $1.9 million. The eight teams eliminated in the Round of 16 will each get $1.5 million. The 16 teams eliminated in the Round of 32 will each receive $1.1 million.

Each of the 48 teams participating in this 38-day battle had at least $1.05 million guaranteed. The teams eliminated in the group stage receive $900,000, with an additional $150,000 provided for preparation costs.

FIFA provides the entire prize money directly to the respective country's football association or federation. The federations then decide how much of it will be given as bonuses to players and coaching staff. The remainder is usually spent on grassroots development and infrastructure in the respective country's football sector.

Although FIFA is a non-profit organisation, they projected record revenue of over $10 billion from this 48-team World Cup. By that calculation, only 6.5 percent of the total revenue is being given as prize money to the teams.

This unprecedented revenue growth will take FIFA's four-year cycle total to a record $13 billion, much higher than the previous four-year cycle's revenue of $7.6 billion, which included the 2022 World Cup.

This big jump in money is most visible in the champions' prize. Argentina received $4.2 million as world champions in Qatar. This time, the champions will take home $5 million, which is $800,000 more than last time. The runners-up are also getting $300,000 more than France received last time.

FIFA first started publicly disclosing prize money details at the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Back then, world champions Italy received only $220,000 as prize money, and the total tournament prize money was only $2 million. Forty-four years later, that figure has completely changed; this year's champions will get nearly 20 times more than Italy in 1982.

The 26 players and coaching staff of the winning team in Sunday's final will receive historic gold medals. Similarly, the runners-up will receive silver medals, and the third-place winners will get bronze medals.

There was strictness in the rules for awarding medals in the past. Before 1978, only the 11 players who played in the final received medals. Later, in 2007, FIFA made a historic announcement to retrospectively provide 122 medals for players who were in the squads of World Cup-winning teams from 1974 or earlier but did not play in the final. Additionally, match officials who perform well in the tournament also receive medals after the final.

Alongside team trophies and medals, individual performance awards will also be given after the final. The best player, selected by FIFA-accredited journalists, will receive the 'Golden Ball', and the best goalkeeper will receive the 'Golden Gloves'. The race for the 'Golden Boot' award for the tournament's top scorer has become one of the most exciting in modern football history. Messi, Mbappe, Bellingham and Harry Kane are all in brilliant goalscoring form. However, these individual trophies do not come with any additional money.