Fifa announces $355 million World Cup club benefit scheme

Fifa announced on Tuesday a $355 million pay-out to clubs releasing players for next year's World Cup - a 70 per cent hike on the 2022 edition.

The new benefit scheme deal, reached in association with the powerful European Club Association (ECA), includes for the first time players involved in qualifiers but not figuring in the 48-team 2026 tournament, co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.

For the 32-team 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Fifa distributed $209 million to 440 sides "from 51 Fifa member associations", football's world governing body noted.

"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," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.

"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," said ECA boss and Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser al-Khelaifi.