FIFA has high hopes for its new Club World Cup – and is offering huge sums of money. As the world governing body confirmed on Wednesday, prize money of one billion US dollars will be distributed.
“The robust financial foundation to advance football worldwide was the focus of the FIFA Council meeting,” FIFA wrote in a statement on Wednesday, confirming that that the 2024 annual report was unanimously approved – “including the revised budget target of $13 billion for the 2023-2026 cycle, almost 90 percent of which is to be reinvested in football.”
The new budget assumes that FIFA will “generate revenue of two billion US dollars from the Club World Cup 2025”, which “will set a new benchmark for global club football”.
The participating clubs can also look forward to a healthy increase in revenue, as the world governing body has confirmed that “one billion US dollars will be distributed to the participating clubs”. In addition, “a solidarity mechanism” is to be implemented “that will benefit club football around the world”.
Infantino promises to be “the measure of all things in club football”
If FIFA President Gianni Infantino has his way, the Club World Cup should be nothing less than the “measure of all things in club football” and, in addition, club football should “benefit to an extent that no other competition has yet seen”. Infantino also emphasized that “all the revenue generated by the tournament will go to the participating clubs” and will be distributed worldwide through a solidarity mechanism, “because FIFA will not keep a single dollar”.
FIFA’s financial reserves, “which are earmarked for global football development, will remain untouched. At the same time, we are making a record investment of almost 2.3 billion US dollars in the FIFA Forward program in the 2023-2026 cycle. This means that by 2026, we will have provided an unprecedented total of up to 5.1 billion US dollars for football development since 2016.”
Bayern and BVB have reason to be happy
From June 15 to July 13, 2025, a Club World Cup with 32 teams will take place for the first time, replacing the previous format. FIFA has long fought for the tournament, which, like the World Cup, is to take place every four years. The mega-event will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada. With FC Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, two German teams will be represented – and can look forward to a healthy increase in revenue.
It is still unclear exactly how much each club will receive, as FIFA did not provide any information on the distribution key. However, the British newspaper The Independent reports that the money will not be distributed equally among the 32 clubs, but rather that the plan is to stagger it by confederation (Europe has the largest contingent with twelve teams). Several hundred million US dollars are to be paid out depending on sporting performance.
So far, FIFA has provided little or no information on exactly how the tournament is to be financed. Recently, however, a few sponsors were presented. DAZN has secured the global broadcasting rights to the 63 matches for a reported $1 billion (€950 million). The streaming provider is broadcasting for free for all fans.
