Paris: FIFA has announced that teams in competition in the Enlagted Club World Cup this year in the United States will share a record of $ 1 billion in prices.
The figure is much more than the price offered for the last world cuts for men or women.
The Director of World Football Director has given few details on the funding of the first edition of the 32 team tournament, which will take place every four years, but he has scored a broadcaster and major sponsors in recent weeks.
In a statement confirming the proposed price, FIFA said it expected to generate $ 2 billion in the extended club World Cup. He also confirmed that a female edition will take place from 2028.
“The FIFA club World Cup will not only be the ultimate in club football, but also a living demonstration of solidarity that will benefit clubs on a scale that no other competition has ever done,” said FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
“All the income generated by the tournament will be distributed to participating clubs and via the solidarity club around the world, because FIFA will not keep a single dollar.”
The British streaming service Dazn has received the exclusive world rights of the tournament, which will take place from June 14 to July 13, in December. A source close to negotiations said the contract was worth around one billion euros ($ 1.05 billion).
FIFA has also signed sponsorship contracts with Coca-Cola, Bank of America, the Chinese electronics brand Hisense and the Belgian brewers AB Inbev.
In comparison, the total silver price for the 2022 male World Cup in Qatar was $ 440 million, while for the 2023 women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, it was $ 110 million.
The UEFA Champions League of this season, with a new format of 36 clubs, will pay a total of 2.47 billion euros (2.66 billion dollars) to the clubs involved.
Generalized criticism on the well-being of players
The expansion of the Tournament by FIFA was faced with generalized criticisms, in particular in Europe, largely due to concerns concerning the well-being of players.
The World Union of Footballers FIFPro and the European League Association filed a complaint with the European Commission in October against FIFA, accusing it of having abused its dominant position in overcrowding the calendar.
The Champions League has also been extended by UEFA this season, and some players, including the winner of Ballon d’Or Rodri and the captain of Liverpool, Virgil Van Dijk, have raised the prospect of a strike.
“I think we are close to that. I think if you ask a player, he will say the same thing,” said Rodri when he was asked in September if there was a possibility that the players be on strike, shortly before undergoing a knee injury at the end of the season.
“It is not Rodri’s opinion or something else. I think that is the general opinion of the players.”
The tournament will showcase 12 teams from Europe, six from South America, and four each from Asia, Africa and North and Central America.
The Inter Miami of Auckland City and Lionel Messi complete the programming.
The whole reaction was not negative, the coach of Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Enrique, insisting that “everyone” would like to play.
“Once every four years, there is this new extremely exciting competition. Everyone wants to go to the club World Cup,” he said last year.
The tournament will take place in 12 sites in 11 cities in the United States, with the New Jersey Metlife Stadium final, which will also host the 2026 World Cup final.
