December 15, (THEWILL) –With only two games remaining in the tournament, FIFA will shortly start sending payouts to football clubs, whose players participated in the World Cup in Qatar.
More than 800 players came together in Qatar to stage the four-week event, and the World Cup organisers usually pay for the privilege. They refer to it as their Club Benefits Programme, and it pays out rewards to those employers who have contributed to the success of worldwide players.
Any club that releases a player for the World Cup will be eligible for a payment in return, and there were 416 eligible clubs in 2018 from 63 member associations. Additionally, apart from the players’ current clubs, there is money to be claimed by former clubs that have played a part in the development of that player since 2020.
According to FIFA, a total of $209 million (£171.6 million) has been allocated for the current World Cup, which equates to almost $10,000 being paid to each player for each day they are away from their clubs. Any player who makes it to the final four, so ensuring either a World Cup final or third-place play-off, will get an estimated $370,000 in compensation.
However, the calculations for which team earns what, are not so simple. To make sure that former clubs are not left without some benefits, the calculation for each player who has travelled to Qatar is divided into three parts. Generally speaking, a third of the player’s salary is paid to the club to which the player was registered during 2020/2021, a third during 2021/2022, and the remaining amount is paid to the club that is paying the player this season.
For instance, as England advanced to the quarterfinals, Manchester City will receive $280,000 back on Kyle Walker, but just $90,000 for Kalvin Phillips. The remaining will be given to Leeds United, Phillips’ previous team that he left in the summer.
Any player moving in the middle of the season adds a little element of complexity and adds the qualification that these numbers are the best guesses. According to these calculations, FIFA will reimburse the 20 English Premier League clubs in the range of $27 million with City getting as much a $4m, Chelsea $2.9m, Man Utd $2.7m, Tottenham $2.4m, Liverpool $1.8m and Arsenal $1.6m.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
