FIFA has confirmed 50 million US dollars (£37.5m) will be up for grabs for the winning nation at next summer’s World Cup, as a row over ticket prices for the tournament rages on.
The FIFA Council approved prize money for the tournament at a meeting in Doha on Wednesday, with the overall fund available to competing nations set at 727m US dollars (£545m), up 50 per cent on the 2022 finals in Qatar.
Each nation will receive 1.5m US dollars (£1.1m) from FIFA in preparation costs and at least a further 9m US dollars (£6.7m) just for competing in the group stage.
The confirmation comes as fan groups accused FIFA of playing “PR games” over ticket prices.
Football’s world governing body announced on Tuesday that 60-dollar (£45) tickets would be made available in the allocations national associations sell to their most loyal fans, after widespread criticism of FIFA’s initial pricing was revealed last week.
However, only 10 per cent of tickets within this allocation will be available at this price. For the England v Croatia match, for example, it would benefit around 400 out of the more than 4,000 fans able to buy tickets through the England Supporters Travel Club (ESTC) allocation.
For the remainder, tickets will start at £198 for that opening match, and at an eye-watering £3,140 for the final.
