Tips

News

Predictions

Blogs

Videos

Quizzes

Free Bets

Club World Cup Earnings Breakdown: Tournament Prize Money
Blogs

Club World Cup Earnings Breakdown: Tournament Prize Money

Club World Cup Earnings Breakdown: Tournament Prize Money

With the revamped Club World Cup just 11 days away, players involved will have seen their holiday plans drastically altered, as the focus of all 32 competing teams aim to go as deep as possible.

One major factor behind the intense preparation is the quite extraordinary sum of money on offer. The total pot for the tournament stands at $1 Billion, with only the Champions League offering more money to sides involved.

Half of the huge pot will be shared evenly amongst the 32 sides, simply as a reward for taking part and raising the profile of the tournament, a sum that equates to around $15 million. This is a huge incentive for both the teams involved this summer and to prospective qualifiers who will be looking to gain entry to the next tournament in four years time.

However, for the other half of the pot, it is business as usual - $500 million will be divvied out based on performance, with the sides who go furthest earning the biggest percentage of the total prize.

So how does the Club World Cup work? What are the prize money figures for each round a team survives? And how much dosh will be given to the world champions?

How the Club World Cup Works

The reason the Club World Cup (CWC) has received so much coverage this year is for the drastic change in format. In previous years, only one or two winners from each continent could participate, meaning that each edition saw just eight teams compete across eight matches.

The teams eligible to take part in each year's competition were the winners of each continent's respective Champions League tournament (UEFA, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, OFC), as well as the winners of the Copa Libertadores and Japan’s J-League.

Almost invariably, the UEFA Champions League winners would take home the CWC each year, with last time this failed to happen coming in the 2012 final, when Chelsea lost to Corinthians. As a result, FIFA decided enough was enough - they needed more variety, more games, more excitement, and more money.

So they binned the old format, and instead mirrored the layout of the existing FIFA World Cup - eight groups of four, with the top two sides in each group qualifying for the knock-out rounds.

They went with this option for two reasons: firstly, to give non-European sides more representatives in the tournament, increasing their chances of seeing one team go far. Secondly, FIFA wanted to make the tournament a spectacle, with December’s eight games each year rarely fostering much, if any, excitement.

Who Gets What?

First of all, it is important to clarify the participation pot. All six continents have a representative, ranging from Oceania’s one (Auckland City) to Europe’s 12.

Each team gets a chunk of the participation pot, with the amount received based on a ranking using commercial and sporting variables. As a result, the money earned for simply flying to the United States is as follows:

Screenshot 2025-06-04 160002.png

Now, to the results-based earnings. Money isn’t paid out simply for finishing position - it is also dependent on the win and loss record of each side. Winning a group stage game will earn the victor $2 million, while a draw is worth $1 million for both sides. Of course, should a side lose, it only makes sense they receive nothing.

In the knockout rounds, prize money balloons quickly: teams who are knocked out in the round of 16 will be awarded $7 million, on top of the prize money they earned in the group stage, while eliminated quarter finalists will be given a touch over $13 million.

Semi finalists are going to be positively rolling in money, as they will see $21 million enter their accounts even if they head out before the showpiece game.

The last two teams standing will be awarded $30 million each for reaching the final, with the winner emerging with an extra $10 million on top of that - a nice little donation ahead of a summer of transfer wheelings and dealings.

However, FIFA has claimed that the winner of the tournament could take home as much as $125 million when combining the participation pot with various performance-based payouts. This is a huge sum of money that would benefit even the richest of clubs, and the likes of PSG, Manchester City and Chelsea will be licking their lips at the prospect of a further bolstered bank balance.

There is a lot on the line at this tournament: club reputation, continental recognition, and monetary value. Now, we are just over a week away from seeing the drama unfold, drama which you can follow and study on our predictions page, as we aim to bring all the analysis, stats and stories to your screen.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
Harry Pascoe

Lead Writer

Videos
See more
From Non-League to the AFCON Final - The Story of Kwesi Appiah
Listen to our full podcast with Kwesi Appiah as he discusses his sensational rise from non-league all the way to starting in the AFCON final.
Is it time for Luton Town to make THE DECISION?!
Watch out latest edition of EFL Hot Takes as the lads give their opinion on the Rob Edwards situation at Luton Town.
WHO is in our Championship TEAM OF THE SEASON so far?!
Find out how we would put in our Championship Team of the Season so far on YouTube as we approach the busy period.

Join our newsletter

Become a part of our community and never miss an update from Football Park.