As the biggest and most iconic tournament in football, the FIFA World Cup needs no introduction.
Every player around the world dreams of participating in the World Cup at some point in their career, and maybe even harbors visions of lifting the famous gold trophy.
Yet with such grandeur comes an obligation to treat the competition as such. Thus, FIFA has backed the famous tournament with a gargantuan pot of cash to be dished out between the various participants at the 2026 competition.
With the coming tournament hosted in the United States, Canada, and Mexico set to be the largest tournament in history, FIFA has earmarked three-quarters of a billion dollars to be distributed between the 48 qualifiers at the month-long tournament.
AllSportsPeople brings you an overview of how this distribution will break down, who will receive what money, and what record total the 2026 winner will take home at the end of the day.
WORLD CUP HUB: Schedule and bracket | Ticket guide | Predicting the winner
FIFA World Cup prize money
For the 2026 World Cup, FIFA has earmarked an enormous $655 million (€558.4m / £490.5m) purse for the 48 participants in the tournament.
This represents a 50% increase from the prize pot at the 2022 World Cup, at which $440 million was set aside.
While that's a significant increase in theory, it's mitigated by the increase in participants as well. The World Cup has expanded from 32 to 48 teams, itself a 50% increase.
In addition to the pot, each team will receive $1.5 million to cover preparation costs, totaling $727 million in total allocated distribution to the participating teams.
How much will the 2026 World Cup winner earn?
The 2026 FIFA World Cup winner will secure $50 million (€42.6m / £37.5m) upon lifting the trophy at MetLife Stadium on July 19.
That match will be worth $17 million on its own, as the runner-up will only receive $33 million.
The lowest prize a participating nation can win is $9 million for elimination in the group stage. This means that along with the lowest possible prize money share, the minimum a World Cup participating nation will receive is $10.5 million, just for qualifying to the tournament.
World Cup prize money breakdown
Here is a full breakdown of the prize money each participant will earn based on their final placing at the tournament:
| Finish | Stage reached | Prize money |
| Champion | Won title | $50 million |
| 2nd place | Final | $33 million |
| 3rd place | Semifinals | $29 million |
| 4th place | Semifinals | $27 million |
| 5th-8th place | Quarterfinals | $19 million |
| 9th-16th place | Round of 16 | $15 million |
| 17th-32nd place | Round of 32 | $11 million |
| 33rd-48th place | Group stage | $9 million |