It’s a win-win World Cup: record-breaking prize pool to hit $1 billion at Qatar 2022

Money makes the world go round, right? Sure, the old saying is widely known, but in football, records were set lately, as the revenues went through the roof in the past decade, enabling club teams to spend more and generate more income.

The FIFA World Cup makes no exception, with an uptick in the prize pool at every edition. For the 2022 edition of the world flagship football competition, the world body, FIFA, has announced a record-breaking prize money pool, which amounts to $1 billion for the first time ever in the history of the competition.

The record-breaking $1 billion in payouts to the 32 teams taking part in the competition has been already broken down into four major categories, with four main pillars of payments to be made.

First of all, the set 2022 FIFA World Cup prize money budget is set at $440 million, or roughly 44% of the total amount of prizes. Potential payments to clubs amount to $310 million, through the FIFA World Cup Club Benefits scheme, which was part of an agreement between FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA), established in 2008 to recognize the contribution that football clubs make to the success of staging the FIFA World Cup.

Next, the insurance fees to clubs in case of injuries to players – namely players’ salaries being covered for the whole length of their rehabilitation – have known an uptick from the previous editions to $220 million, while the preparation payments have been budgeted to $70 million. Each participating team will get $1.5 million to cover their travel expenses and training camps prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

26% uptick in total prize budget

It is the first time ever that the total prize pool at a FIFA World Cup has reached the $1 billion threshold, with an uptick of 26% from the previous edition in Russia, when the total prize amount reserved for the 32 participating teams was $791 million.

From the first time since prize money was introduced in the competition in Spain 1982, the growth is huge, with the total amount ballooning from $20 million, an increase of 50 times in just 40 years.

The upward trend is also maintained at Qatar 2022, with each and every edition of the FIFA World Cup in the past 40 years registering an uptick in the total amount of prizes, but the growth has been even more accelerating, as the South Africa 2010 edition, which took place only 12 years ago, had a prize pool of $420 million.

But what about the prize money for each participating team? Well, apart from the guaranteed $1.5 million to cover their travel expenses and training camps prior to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, each participating team will earn a $9 million check for taking part in the group phase.

The teams who qualify for the Round of 16 phases will earn $13 million, the eight quarter-finalists will receive $17 million, while the top four sides each get massive improvements in payments from the $440 million money purse.

The fourth-placed side will earn $25 million, the bronze medalists will take home $27 million, with the runners-up earning $30 million. The biggest prize is awarded to the winner, another record-breaking number of $42 million.

This also amounts to roughly 21 times what the winners at Spain 1982 got, $2.2 million and it keeps FIFA’s tradition of improving the amount of money won by the world champions, with a $4 million uptick from the previous edition at Russia 2018, when France got $38 million for winning the World Cup.

It also means that the fourth-placed side at Qatar 2022 will earn more money than the winners of the Germany 2006 tournament, who got $20 million while qualifying for this tournament will earn you more than Brazil got for winning the 2002 edition, which was the first-ever to take place in Asia.