FIFA is due to pay out more than $1 billion in pool prize money for the expanded 32-team Club World Cup with the European club umbrella body ECA completing a deal on behalf of European clubs including Chelsea and Manchester City.
Twelve European clubs will take part in the inaugural competition, which will be hosted in the United States from June 14 to July 13. Prize money will in future be distributed via a participation fee for clubs entering the group stage and further rewards for reaching different stages of the tournament.
The financing is supported by a billion-dollar global TV rights agreement with sports streaming giant DAZN, which was signed in December. FIFA is again in discussions to agree solidarity payments for clubs that do not participate, while plans are afoot to extend distribution similar to CONCACAF to Africa and Asia/Americas in the coming years.
FIFA’s president, Gianni Infantino, underlined the importance of the tournament when he said, “The FIFA Club World Cup will represent the pinnacle of club football and a show of unity, with all proceeds going to clubs worldwide.”
Simply put, the new format is set to change the financial architecture of club football worldwide, and while the ECA has not yet publicly articulated the new measures it had in mind, there has been talk of mechanisms to redistribute the huge amounts of money generated in a manner that levels the playing field.
