FIFA's most prestigious tournament is by far the World Cup. There is no greater honor for a player, a national team, and a federation than to win it. While the primary configuration of any sport used to include only the pride of achieving a victory, today it is also a business model, which cannot survive without money. Fortunately, the world soccer champion receives a juicy sum for achieving such a feat. How much will the Qatar 2022 king receive?
The honor of becoming the winner of the FIFA World Cup is something that very few national teams have achieved despite the tournament's 92-year history. A total of 21 editions have been held since the first one in Uruguay 1930. However, only 8 countries have managed to win it.
Uruguay (2), Italy (4), Germany (4), Brazil (5), England, Argentina (2), France (2), and Spain are the only ones that know how exactly does it feel to be the FIFA World Cup winners. Qatar 2022 will be the 22 edition of this tournament, and all of the previous champions, except for Italy, are qualified and ready to fight to repeat the experience. Would it be any new member of the group?
The FIFA World Cup: the economic incentives
During long journeys, the 211 countries affiliated with FIFA fight for a place in the World Cup. This tournament has progressively increased its quota. In 1930 and 1950, 13 national teams participated; in 1938, 15; in 1934, and from 1954 to 1978, 16. However, from Spain 1982 to USA 1994, the quota grew to 24, and from France 1998 to the upcoming Qatar 2022, 32 teams were invited to this tournament. For the 2026 edition, in Canada, the United States, and Mexico, there will be 48 participating teams.
The bottom line is that every team wants to play in the World Cup. And FIFA knows this, which is why in addition to the honor and prestige of playing in its flagship tournament, it awards financial prizes to every team that participates in it. Obviously, Qatar 2022 will be no exception.
The financial award just for participating in Qatar 2022
As FIFA announced on April 1 during the World Cup Final Draw ceremony, a total of $440 million will be distributed among the participants in the tournament. Yes, all the teams that qualified for Qatar 2022 are already winners, at least in financial terms.
For the mere fact of participating, a National Team is guaranteed the sum of $10.5 million: $9 million for participation and $1.5 million for preparation expenses to attend the tournament. Evidently, and in order to strengthen the sense of sporting justice and meritocracy, the more a team advances in the World Cup, the greater the financial award it receives.
Earnings per team according to their position in the FIFA World Cup
In addition to the aforementioned $1.5 million prize money for preparation expenses, the teams that place 17th through 32nd, i.e., those that do not advance from the group stage, receive a guaranteed $9 million. No one goes home empty-handed.
From the ninth to the sixteenth place in Qatar 2022, that is, those National Teams that advance to the Round of 16 but are eliminated in it, will receive $13 million: added to the initial $1.5 million, the final figure is $14.5 million.
Advancing to the Quarterfinals is already a guarantee of receiving $17 million in prize money: a total of $18.5 million. From the semifinal round onwards, the prizes are much larger, with the fourth-place finisher in Qatar 2022 receiving S$25 million.
Qatar 2022 top 3: how much money will the next world champion take home?
The highest-seeded semi-final loser, i.e. the third-place finisher of the upcoming FIFA World Cup, will receive a juicy consolation prize of $27 million. On the other hand, whoever makes it to the final, but has to go through the bitter pill of losing it, will receive a reward of $30 million.
The National Team that has the talent, character, and luck to be crowned World Champion in Qatar 2022 will receive nothing less than a staggering $42 million in prize money. An incentive that would motivate anyone to give their best to conquer the trophy.
It should be noted that, as with economic and social phenomena such as inflation, FIFA also makes adjustments to the amount of money it distributes in prizes to the participants in its flagship World Cup. In Brazil 2014, a total of 358 million dollars were distributed; in Russia 2018, 400 million dollars were distributed, 40 million dollars less than in Qatar 2022.
