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Next year's FIFA World Cup will see a record surge of 50% rise in prize money, with the winner set to take home a whopping $50m from a whopping prize fund of $655m.
Following a meeting of the FIFA Council in Doha, FIFA revealed that $727m would be shared among its member nations and of that sum, $655m would be prize money distributed among qualifying nations.
The runners-up will receive $33m while those ranked between "33rd and 48th place" in the expanded tournament will receive $9m each. The additional $1.5m fixed for each participating team for "preparation costs" means each nation is guaranteed a minimum of $10.5m.
"The FIFA World Cup 2026 will also be groundbreaking in terms of its financial contribution to the global football community," FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.
FIFA's Council also announced plans to organise festival-style youth tournaments for under-15s open to all member associations. The events are likely to begin in 2026 with the boys' events, which will be followed by a girls' competition in 2027.
"In recent years, FIFA has stepped up its efforts to boost youth football," Infantino said. "This is a natural next step."
FIFA Council also revealed the dates of the 2028 Women's Club World Cup. The showpiece event will be held from January 5 to January 30.
The developement came days after FIFA faced heavy criticism over the ticket prices at the tournament, to be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Facing flak, the world football governing body announced on Tuesday that $60 (£45) tickets would be made available in the allocations that national associations sell to 10 per cent of their most loyal fans.
That means that only a fortunate few will get the tickets for a discounted price, while the rest of the supporters will have to pay up to £5,000 to follow their country through to the summit clash.
