More clubs than ever are set to benefit from the FIFA World Cup, as FIFA gears up to implement an enhanced edition of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme (CBP) for the 2026 edition of its flagship men’s competition.
As per the renewed memorandum of understanding signed by FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA) in March 2023, clubs that release players for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will benefit from a total of $355 million.
For the first time since its inception, the CBP distribution principles have been adjusted to allow every club whose players directly feature either in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers or the final tournament to receive a share of the solidarity fund.
This new approach means that any club that releases a player for a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier will now be directly compensated for that release, irrespective of whether the player plays in the final tournament, an additional step to increase solidarity aimed at providing a fairer and more inclusive redistribution across global club football.
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“The enhanced edition of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going a step further by recognising financially the huge contribution that so many clubs and their players around the world make to the staging of both the qualifiers and the final tournament.
“A record $355 million will be distributed to clubs for the release of their players, and this reinforces our solid collaboration with the European Club Association and clubs worldwide as we all look forward to a groundbreaking and globally inclusive edition of the FIFA World Cup next year,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
The Chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, thanked FIFA for the initiative that will provide immense support to national team football.
“At ECA, we are pleased to have collaborated with FIFA to support the development of this innovative new FIFA Club Benefits Programme. It will ensure that even more clubs across the world are rewarded for releasing players and highlights exactly how ECA’s Memorandum of Understanding with FIFA supports the ongoing growth of the global club game.
“Clubs play a pivotal role in the success of national team football, and this initiative recognises every element of it, from early development through to release for the most important games. We look forward to continuing to work closely with FIFA and the global football community to ensure we keep driving growth and development of international football” he added.
Further details on the CBP distribution model will be provided in due course, including the registration process for clubs to submit their applications.
The fourth edition of the CBP, which was implemented for the FIFA World Cup 2022, saw $209 million distributed among 440 clubs from 51 FIFA Member Associations across all six confederations.
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