Overview
- FIFA raised total team distributions for the 2026 World Cup to $871 million, guaranteeing each qualified association at least $12.5 million with $2.5 million for preparation and $10 million on qualification.
- Performance prizes now top out at $53.5 million for the winner, with $36.5 million for the runner-up and $32.5 million for third place, with descending awards for all other finishing spots.
- The tournament expands to 48 teams across the United States, Mexico, and Canada with 104 matches starting June 11, and four nations — Cape Verde, Curaçao, Jordan, and Uzbekistan — set for their first World Cup.
- Fans face a new demand-based ticket system that moves prices up and down, with listed seats reviewed at $380 to $4,105 and one official resale listing for the final posted at $11.5 million, where FIFA takes a 15% fee and some group-stage tickets start at $60 through team allocations.
- FIFA points to huge interest — about 508 million ticket requests for seven million seats — and reports 2025 revenue of $2.66 billion with assets at $9.48 billion as the financial base for the higher payouts.