FIFA must pay out more than $1 billion in prize money for the newly expanded 32-team Club World Cup added to the calendar in time and after the European Club Association (ECA) finalised a deal to secure the 32-team tournament, which will include clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City, MySportDab Reports.
Participating clubs will be European, and in its first edition it will see 12 European clubs competing, taking place in the United States, from June 14 to July 13.
The total prize pool will be the biggest in club football history, with teams paid for entering the tournament and paid again based on how far they progress through the rounds.
Funding for the tournament, which will be partly underwritten by a $1 billion global TV rights agreement struck with the sports streaming service DAZN in December, means that it is expected to use that to pay prize funds.
Negotiations between FIFA and the ECA on solidarity payments for non-participating clubs are ongoing, meaning financial windfalls will not just go to the competing clubs. Similar distributions are to be announced for clubs in Africa, Asia and the Americas at a later stage.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino referred to the tournament as “not just the peak of club football, but a simple show of solidarity for the benefit of all clubs on earth on an unprecedented scale”.
FIFA has promised to share all revenue with clubs instead of pocketing profits, and the format seeks to remake the economic landscape of club football around the world.
Although the ECA has not released an official statement, it has brought about a fundamental change in the way FIFA organizes and rewards the highest-tier club competitions.
