FIFA explains game-changing $1bn Club World Cup prize

 The Club World Cup is on! You might say to yourself as you don’t watch it, instead opting to do summery things like sit in front of the cricket, obsess over transfers, or – say it quietly – go outside and enjoy the sunshine,

There have been all sorts of hollow-feeling exclamation marks around this tournament: Al-Hilal vs Man City, what an exciting matchup! PSG battered Real Madrid!! Chelsea are in the final!!! Chelsea will get £87.5million in total if they win it!!!!
 
For a club that has been selling hotels and women’s teams to itself to help navigate PSR, that amount of money is no laughing matter. The total amount of cash available in the tournament prize fund is a record US$1 billion in prize money.
 
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said: “The distribution model of the FIFA Club World Cup reflects the pinnacle of club football and represents the biggest-ever prize money for a football tournament comprising a seven-match group stage and playoff format with a potential payout of USD 125 million foreseen for the winners”.
 
That means it outstrips tournaments far more popular and with far more bums in seats both in front of TVs and inside grounds.
 
So, where on Earth is all the money coming from? To find out, we spoke to our in-house expert, Chief Business of Football Writer, Dave Powell.
 
Dave explains: “Up until late 2024, FIFA did not have a broadcast partner for the Club World Cup, with the major broadcasters such as Amazon having balked at the $1bn sum that world football’s governing body had been seeking for the rights.
 
“DAZN, the British streaming platform that had focused a large portion of its business on boxing, was willing to go all out in a bid to try and get their platform in front of a global football audience for an inaugural tournament.
 
“The coverage has been free-to-air, and it is likely to be another loss maker for DAZN, but they are playing a longer game, with Pete Oliver, DAZN’s chief executive officer of growth markets, telling Reach Plc’s Bottom Line newsletter: “The great thing about the FIFA Club World Cup was that we were able to acquire the rights for every country in the world and that for us is the way that sport is moving, to be less regional and more global.
 
“‘We have a tech platform that can deliver live games to any country, whether it’s free or paid, so for us this was a very strategic deal to say, ‘let’s have a tournament where we are the only broadcaster around the world’ or the lead broadcaster in some countries with sub-licenced as well, where you’d be able to prove the model with DAZN and show people a huge competition like this can be available internationally.’”
 
Reports have claimed much of the money being pumped into the competition has its origins in the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, which acquired a $1billion minority share in DAZN in February 2025. This, however, pales in comparison to the $6.7 billion thought to have been invested into DAZN by Sir Leonard Blavatnik, the world’s 75th richest person.
 
Dave explained further how pressure from the star attractions – the clubs – had influenced the situation we’re seeing now: “The need for a big deal was vital for FIFA. Last year, former Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti had suggested that were the money on offer was not good enough, then there would be no desire for the biggest clubs to send their best players if more money could be made on the club’s organised tours.
 
“FIFA needed the biggest stars to be in attendance to make sure that it had the best chance of cutting through, and the DAZN deal allowed them to put up the money to make that happen and avoid the scenario that Ancelotti had suggested.
 
“The prize pot for clubs is $1bn overall, with the winners of the competition potentially taking home as much as $125m. That money has come from the value of the broadcast deal, the ticket sales from the competition, and the money raised from commercial partnerships for the competition, with US firms Michelob and Bank of America among those who have attached themselves to the tournament commercially.

FIFA had previously outlined in their budget for 2023-2026 that the competition would be a ‘financially neutral tournament’ where all costs incurred and all distributions made would be entirely covered by the tournament revenues and not touch FIFA’s reserves, which were to be preserved for global football development. There was also to be zero revenue coming back to FIFA, with the money raised to finance the event’s operational costs, distribution, and solidarity payments made to global clubs as part of its commitment.

“The DAZN deal solved a huge headache for FIFA back in December, and its value has taken the pressure of what has been a less than expected return in revenue when it comes to ticket sales, with the scheduling, some of the teams being unknown to the US audience, and a scorching American summer, meaning that only the biggest games have drawn good crowds.”