The 2026 World Cup is not only the world’s biggest football celebration, but also the biggest sporting event on the planet. The tournament will be watched by billions of people around the world, bringing with it unprecedented amounts of money – for organizers, teams and clubs alike. So the 2026 World Cup will not only break records on the pitch, but also in financial terms.
2026 FIFA World Cup vs. 2024 Olympics
While the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics were watched on screens by around 5 billion people, the Football World Cup will far exceed this number. The 2022 Qatar World Cup, which lasted a week less, was watched by over 6 billion people, which shows the global impact of the tournament.
The economic dimension of the Football World Cup is also significant. While the Paris OM had an economic impact of around 10 billion euros for France, initial forecasts for the 2026 Football World Cup suggest four times that figure.
How much is the prize money for the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The International Football Federation FIFA will distribute approximately 570 million euros in prize money among the 2026 FIFA World Cup participants, which is over 50% more than during the previous tournament.
The prize money is distributed as follows:
- Winner: 43.4 million euros
- 2nd place: 28.7 million euros
- 3rd place: 25.2 million euros
- 4th place: 23.5 million euros
- 5th-8th place: 16.5 million euros
- 9th-16th place: 13 million euros
- 17th-32nd place: 9.5 million euros
- 33rd-48th place: 7.8 million euros
In addition, FIFA will compensate all participating teams with around 1.3 million euros, which means that even teams eliminated in the group stage will earn at least 9.1 million euros.
It is important to note that this amount is transferred to the national football associations, which then decide themselves which part to pass on to the players. These percentages vary from country to country and often also depend on the team’s performance at the World Cup.
Clubs also earn millions
The 2026 World Cup will not only mean a big income for the teams, but the clubs will also get their share. As part of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme, a total of 308 million euros will be paid to clubs to compensate for the absence of players.
The system is simple: clubs earn money for each player who stays with the team. The longer the team stays in the tournament, the higher the fee.
The World Cup has a so-called daily fee of 4350 euros per player. This means that a player eliminated in the group stage earns his club nearly 140,000 euros, while the amount for a player from the World Cup-winning team reaches 250,000 euros.
Compared to the World Cup in Qatar four years ago, the daily fee for the 2026 World Cup is lower – then the amount was 7080 euros – but back then the tournament lasted a week less and fewer teams participated: 32 instead of 48.
Moreover, for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA is also compensating for World Cup qualifying matches for the first time in history. There, each player’s daily fee is just over 2050 euros.
How to bet responsibly during the 2026 World Cup?
- Don’t let your emotions guide your betting decisions
- Manage your budget consciously
- Avoid making up for losses with new bets
- Watch each game separately and base your analysis on it
- Enjoy the tournament – the most important thing is football itself
- Use our sports betting app to keep your bets under full control.
The 2026 World Cup is a great opportunity to experience sports betting – more games, more markets, more excitement and countless moments to talk about.
Good strategy, thorough analysis and a responsible approach make all games an experience to enjoy.
In addition, keep an eye on the OlyBet sports betting section, where we bring special offers for the 2020 FIFA World Cup, which are not to be missed.
