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Thursday, January 8, 2026

FIFA to Pay Clubs $209M for Players’ World Cup Participation

  • FIFA will pay clubs with players on World Cup teams a total of $209 million.
  • Some teams pocketed millions this way in 2018.
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Soccer teams will profit handsomely from their players’ presence in November’s World Cup.

FIFA announced it would pay out $209 million in total to clubs over the course of the World Cup. Teams will receive $10,000 per player per day while the player is involved in the Qatar-based tournament.

  • The payments will go to all clubs the player has played for in the two-year period prior to the World Cup.
  • FIFA gave out $8,530 per player per day in the 2018 World Cup, on top of $10 million to each country whose team made the group stage.
  • The 2018 payments went to more than 400 clubs across 63 countries. 

Manchester City earned $5 million from its players’ participation in the 2018 tournament in Russia. The Premier League team will have 17 players in Qatar. Chelsea will have 20.

Going Meta

In addition to the physical world, FIFA is growing its presence in the metaverse.

Soccer’s global governing body agreed to a multiyear deal with metaverse and gaming platform Roblox, which claims 50 million members.

FIFA will launch an immersive gaming environment within Roblox ahead of the World Cup, including content from its FIFA+ streaming service.

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