Fifa are to distribute $1bn (£775m) in prize money as part of the expanded Club World Cup this summer, with a target of $250m to go to clubs not taking part in the competition.
The size of the prize fund is likely turn heads across the game. Some estimates suggest the winning club in the 32-team tournament could take home as much as $100m (£77.5m); this would be equivalent to winning the Uefa Champions League, but after playing only seven matches.
Speculation over the size of Fifa’s prize pot has persisted since the organisers launched the tournament as a new and controversial fixture in the international calendar. Fifa subsequently announced a $1bn broadcast deal with Dazn last year, with the streamer earning exclusive rights to all matches over the four-week tournament. European teams will form the largest contingent at the Club World Cup with 12 sides set to take part.
Fifa are committed to keeping all revenues from the tournament inside the club game. Operational costs are included as part of the expenditure, but solidarity payments to clubs who did not earn an invitation to the tournament will also be part of the picture. The final sum of any solidarity fund is to be determined later once the revenues generated by the tournament have been confirmed, but the target is to share a quarter of a billion dollars.
A statement from Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, read: “The Fifa Club World Cup will not only be the pinnacle of club football, but also a vivid demonstration of solidarity that will benefit clubs at large to a scale that no other competition has ever done. All revenue generated by the tournament will be distributed to the participating clubs and via club solidarity across the world as Fifa will not keep a single dollar. Fifa’s reserves, which are there for global football development, will remain untouched.”
Manchester City and Chelsea will represent the Premier League in the tournament, with 16 continental champions from the last four seasons all earning an invitation. A further 15 places – awarded to clubs such as Bayern Munich and Boca Juniors – were determined by positions in individual confederations’ club rankings. A final “host nation slot” was given to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
The Club World Cup is scheduled to kick off on 14 June and will be played in 11 cities across the United States. The final is to be played at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, a 93,000-capacity venue home to NFL teams the New York Giants and New York Jets.
Source: theguardian.com
