ECA/FIFA: payments to clubs for the 2026 & 2030 World Cups up by 70%

Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, chairman of the European Club Association, and Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, have signed a new memorandum of understanding that "reinforces the relationship" between the two bodies until 31/12/2030, during the ECA's 29^th general assembly in Budapest (Hungary) on 27/03/2023.

Under this agreement, the budget that FIFA will devote to compensating clubs that release their players for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups will amount to $355m (€330m) for each edition, compared with $209m (€194m) provided for in the previous text, which concerned the 2018 and 2022 editions, i.e. an increase of 70%. At the 2018 World Cup, European clubs received 76% of the sum distributed by FIFA.

In exchange, the agreement includes "a renewed commitment by clubs to adhere to the international match calendar, which received the unanimous approval of the FIFA Council on 14/03/2023, until 2030, and ECA confirmed their support for the new FIFA Club World Cup from 2025, featuring 12 European clubs (out of 32 participants), a yearly game between the winner of the UEFA Champions League and the…