VANCOUVER, CANADA – APRIL 28: Gianni Infantino, FIFA President, presents Vittorio Montagliani, FIFA Vice-President and President of the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), with a gift during FIFA Council Meeting No. 36 at Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel on April 28, 2026 in Vancouver, Canada. (Photo by Verity Griffin – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)Verity Griffin – Fifa | Fifa | Getty ImagesFIFA has increased payments to teams competing in the 2026 World Cup, raising the total distribution to $871 million, making it the most lucrative edition on record.But the increased financial distributions, announced last Wednesday at the 36th FIFA Council meeting in Vancouver, Canada, come as the governing body faces criticism over ticket pricing and its commercial partnerships.Under the new financial distribution structure, participating associations at the 2026 World Cup — set to be held across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada from 11 June — will each receive an additional $2 million, across:Preparation money: $2.5 million, up from $1.5 million at the 2022 World Cup, andQualification money: $10 million, up from $9 million in 2022That brings the minimum payout for each team to at least $12.5 million upon qualification, with additional prize money tied to performance in the tournament.These payments are meant to defray some of the costs associated with qualifying and preparing for the quadrennial sporting tournament, including travel, training facilities and staff remuneration and are expected to be particularly meaningful to teams outside of the sport’s traditional powerhouses, according to Ricardo Fort, founder of sport consultancy Fort Consulting.”This incremental contribution to the national football associations reinforces FIFA’s role in redistributing the commercial success of the tournament back into the global football ecosystem,” Fort said.The 2026 edition of the World Cup is set to be the largest-ever, expanding to 48 teams, up from 32 in 2022. Four national teams — Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan — are set to make their debuts at this year’s edition.FIFA said more than $16 million has also been set aside to cover the costs of participating delegations and team ticketing allocations, bringing the total pool set a …
