What is the World Cup prize money?

What is the World Cup prize money?ByKatharine SharpeBBC Sport senior journalistPublished24 June 2026Updated 26 June 2026The prize money available at the 2026 World Cup is a record-breaking $871m (£662m).Fifa initially announced the total pot would be $727m (£552m), which was already a 50% increase on the funds distributed at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.But in April they approved a further increase to the pot, by increasing the base participation prize and the preparation fee, bringing it to the new total.The prize money is split into performance-based rewards and non performance-based financial support.So how are the rewards broken down?Get in touchSend us your questionsContact formContact formPerformance-based prizesThe further teams progress in the tournament, the more they are rewarded financially.Fifa will award teams finishing in each position as follows:Winners: $51m (£38m)Runners-up: $34m (£25m)3rd place: $30m (£22m)4th place: $28m (£20m)5th-8th place: $20m (£14m)9th-16th place: $16m (£11m)17th-32nd place: $12m (£8m)33rd-48th place: $10m (£7m)These payouts will form $703m of the $871m on offer in the prize pot, with the remaining $168m (£152m) being paid out among teams regardless of performance.Image source, Getty ImagesNon performance-based prizesThe remaining money will be spread evenly across all participating teams in the form of:Preparation money: $2.5m per nationAdditional team contributions: over $16mThis means each team is guaranteed at least $12.5m for taking part in the tournament when combined with the minimum $10m qualification fee.Preparation money is to contribute towards costs such as training camps and travel for squads pre-tournament.Fifa describes 'additional team contributions' as 'subsidies for team delegation costs and increased team ticketing allocations', with the aim of reducing financial disparity between nations when paying for the costs associated with playing in the World Cup, such as travel, logistics and adm...