FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA) have announced that the compensation paid to clubs for releasing players for the men’s World Cup will be increased by nearly 70% to $355 million for the 2026 and 2030 tournaments.
The Club Benefits Programme was created to provide clubs with a share of national team competition revenues in exchange for releasing their players, and also to protect clubs in case their players are injured on international duty.
The previous amount allocated for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups was $209 million. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on Monday at the ECA General Assembly in Budapest, Hungary, renewing the agreement between the two organisations.
ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated that the MoU recognises the important role of clubs in football globally and ensures they are properly represented in decision-making processes around issues that affect them.
Earlier this month, FIFA announced that a 32-team Club World Cup would replace the existing annual competition from June 2025. Although the decision was met with opposition from leagues such as Spain’s LaLiga, the MoU will have FIFA and the ECA collaborating on the various sporting and commercial aspects of the 2025 edition.
The newly structured international calendar was also announced by FIFA, which its president Gianni Infantino said had been endorsed by the ECA. Infantino added that the new International Match Calendar strikes a balance between club and national team football.
He also noted that there are exciting projects ahead, including the new FIFA Club World Cup in 2025 and the new FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, and that close collaboration with clubs in Europe and the rest of the world will be crucial for the success of these events.
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