Football’s governing body Fifa has agreed to an increased financial pool for participating nations at this year’s World Cup.
During a meeting of the Fifa Council in Vancouver, Canada on Tuesday, it was agreed that the financial resources to be distributed to all 48 participating teams would increase by 15 per cent, totalling $871 million.
The pot will be broken down into funding for tournament preparation, qualification and subsidies for team delegation costs and ticketing allocations.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino said in a statement: “Fifa is proud to be in its most solid financial position ever, enabling us to help all our Member Associations in an unprecedented way. This is one more example of how Fifa’s resources are reinvested back into the game.”
The decision to increase prize money comes after discussions between Fifa and its member national associations. It was reported in February that there were concerns among European associations over the increased costs of competing at the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Fifa had approved record prize money of $727m last December to be split between the 48 finalists, including an extra $50m for the winning team.
World football gathers – but no Iran
One nation that could yet miss out on such prize money is Iran, with their participation in the tournament still under a cloud.
Representatives of the Iranian federation were absent from Tuesday's council meeting, with reports suggesting that was due to visa issues, a problem which could block their presence at the overall Fifa Congress beginning Thursday.
AFC general secretary Windsor John expressed some public optimism about Iran's potential attendance at the larger gathering, saying that awards for each Asian qualifying country would be presented to Iran “once they arrive”.
Iranian officials had previously encountered difficulty acquiring visas to attend the World Cup draw in Washington DC last December. That predated combined American and Israeli attacks on Iran which began in late February, complicating the situation further.
In recent weeks, Iran has lobbied Fifa to move all of its scheduled matches to Mexico, but that request has not been met. Leaders of both Iran and the United States have engaged in hostile rhetoric.
Infantino stressed cooperation in his opening speech on Tuesday. “Now, even more, we have to show the world that we are here and we are united, and we can come together from all over the world in a peaceful environment, that we can unite the world,” the Fifa president said.
Iran are in Group G and scheduled to play New Zealand (June 15) and Belgium (June 21) in Los Angeles, and Egypt in Seattle (June 26).
Red and yellow card shake-up
The council also approved the wiping of yellow cards at the end of the 2026 World Cup group phase, as well as after the quarter-finals.
The expanded 48-team format introduces an additional last-32 round, increasing the total number of matches played by teams reaching the final stages. Without any amendments to the regulations, the expanded competition risked causing more suspensions due to accumulated cautions, with two yellows resulting in a suspension.
Meanwhile, it was unanimously agreed that any player covering their mouth in a confrontational situation with an opponent could be sanctioned with a red card.
Red card sanctions may also be applied to any player who leaves the field of play in protest at a referee’s decision, or any team official who incites players to leave the field of play.
Asian Cup dates confirmed
The exact dates for the 2027 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia were also officially ratified in Vancouver.
The tournament will kick off on January 7 and run until the final on February 5. The event features Asia's 24 strongest teams, including the UAE, and will take place in eight venues across three host cities - Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar.
Qatar are the reigning champions having won on home soil at the delayed 2023 competition. The 2027 tournament is expected to be the last occurring on an odd-numbered year.
The AFC abandoned the bidding process for the 2031 and 2035 tournaments in March 2026 to restructure its calendar. The UAE had been among the nations hoping to stage the 2031 event.
Future tournaments will likely follow a 2032 and 2036 pattern to align with the Uefa European Championships and Copa America.
