2026 World Cup Prize Money Gets a Major Boost: Here's Every Detail You Need to Know

VANCOUVER — Nations competing at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are set to receive larger payouts, after the FIFA Council voted to boost prize money for all participating countries at the tournament's inaugural 48-team edition. 

The total boost exceeds $100 million and will be shared among all competing nations. The increase is designed to ease concerns about the high costs associated with the tournament, given differing tax structures, travel expenses, and other variables across the three co-host nations of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. 

As part of the announcement, FIFA confirmed it will provide each team with an extra $2 million—comprising $1 million in "preparation funds" for tournament-related costs and a $1 million raise to the qualifying reward baseline—both of which apply to host nations that bypassed standard qualifying competitions. 

The decisions were reached at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel in Vancouver, located near the Vancouver Convention Center, which is playing host to Thursday's 76th FIFA Congress, expected to bring together all 211 members of the sport's global governing body. 

In total, the adjustments raise "preparation funds" to $2.5 million per team, with the baseline qualification reward climbing to $10 million. However, the round-by-round prize money increments will remain unchanged from those revealed in December. 

FIFA also unveiled "subsidies for team delegation costs and expanded team ticketing allocations totaling over $16 million," pushing the total increase following the latest announcement past $100 million—now standing at $871 million, per FIFA, up from the initial December figure of $755 million.

As a non-profit body, FIFA aims to return as much revenue as possible to its members, and anticipates generating a record $11 billion from the World Cup.

While the additional funds to each federation are sourced from World Cup revenues, many tournament expenses are already covered by FIFA, including business-class travel for a 50-person delegation between venues and base camps, training facility rental fees, and accommodation for five nights prior to the tournament and one night following elimination, among other provisions. 

National federations, however, are responsible for any costs beyond the 50-person delegation, 26 of whom are already accounted for by the players themselves. Coaching and operations staff for many nations far surpasses the remaining 24 spots, where the additional funding could be put to use.

Red Card for Covering Mouth, Yellow Card Amnesty

Among Tuesday's other formal rulings, FIFA and the International Football Association Board confirmed several rule changes to be enforced at the upcoming World Cup, including a new red card offense and modifications to yellow card records. 

Players will now be subject to red cards for covering their mouths while speaking to an opponent, in a bid to discourage racist and offensive remarks, as has been observed recently in La Liga and in competitions around the world. 

"If a player covers his or her mouth and says something and this has a racist consequence, then they have to be sent off," FIFA president Gianni Infantino told Sky in March. "There has to be a presumption that he has said something he shouldn't have said; he wouldn't have to cover his mouth."

Additionally, FIFA has agreed to reset yellow card records twice during the upcoming World Cup—once following the group stage and again after the quarterfinals—in hopes of reducing the number of players suspended for key knockout matches due to card accumulation. A one-match ban will still apply if a player collects two yellow cards, but competitors will now benefit from a clean slate on three separate occasions throughout the tournament. 

Afghan Women's Refugee Team Allowed at FIFA Tournaments

A women's team composed of Afghan refugees will be permitted to compete in international tournaments, following a FIFA Council agreement on Tuesday—five years after Afghan national team players fled the country under Taliban rule. 

The Council voted to update its regulations to formally recognize the refugee side, which has competed under the name Afghan Women United. Their recognition comes too late to enter qualifying for the 2027 Women's World Cup in Brazil, but they will be eligible to take part in the qualification process for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. 

The first steps toward rebuilding the team came in October 2025, when Afghan Women United organized a tournament in Morocco featuring Chad, Libya, and Tunisia, following sustained efforts from human rights organizations and former captain and activist Khalida Popal.

Afghanistan has not featured in a competitive women's soccer match since 2018.

Topics to Watch

FIFA activities continue on Wednesday in Vancouver, with a delegation soccer tournament featuring officials and FIFA legends at the University of British Columbia, followed by the official FIFA Congress Dinner. 

Thursday will bring the main event, with more than 1,600 delegates expected to gather for a Congress meeting that will tackle racism in soccer, upcoming financial budgets, and suspensions of FIFA members, which may include discussions surrounding Russia's potential return to international competition.