According to Sky News, FIFA will pay clubs nearly 300 million pounds to send players to the 2026 World Cup with huge amounts of money.
The fund agreed to by FIFA and the European Clubs Association (ECA) has increased 70 per cent to $355 million from the $209 million (£170 million) that the clubs are split as a reward for the development of the club. develop and bring players to the World Cup 2022.
The World Cup is expanding from 32 to 48 teams for the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico in 2026 and expanding from 64 to 104 games.
Sources told Sky News that an agreement has been reached ahead of the ECA’s key annual meeting in Budapest, which will be attended by the FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
The ECA is also in talks with FIFA about forming a joint venture to sell the commercial rights to the new 32-team Men’s Club World Cup scheduled to launch in 2025, Sky News reports. .
This is an increase of about 75% compared to the £170m that clubs are split to bring players to the 2022 World Cup.
The partnership to maximize revenue from the new tournament will mark a significant improvement in the relationship between Europe’s top clubs and FIFA.
Europe’s elite teams have protested FIFA’s expansion of the Club World Cup from an annual seven-team event to a four-year 32-team competition.
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But now clubs are welcoming new cash flows and gaining more power in FIFA – a blow to the push for an ongoing European Super League.
That breakaway is still being pursued by Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid although the original concept will fall apart within 48 hours in 2021 after six English clubs were forced to withdraw.
