As the final stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers came to a close last week, those who have made it to the grandest stage of world football rejoiced, while many who have failed to qualify couldn’t help but get frustrated at their failure to book a flight to Russia next year.
In Europe, where the most number of qualifiers hail from, more than a handful of teams didn’t make the cut. The Netherlands was one of the countries who failed to qualify. This is the first time since 1990 that the Flying Dutchmen won’t be able to play in the final stage of the World Cup. Wales also failed to make it to the World Cup, despite the efforts of their talismanic forward Gareth Bale. Europe still has the play-offs to play, so more countries are set to kiss their World Cup dreams goodbye.
In the North and Central Americas, the high-profile United States failed to make it to the World Cup despite their momentum going into the final two games. A defeat in the hands of Trinidad and Tobago in their penultimate qualifier two weeks ago cost them the three points they needed to secure qualification, not even a play-off spot.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, the countries who have qualified to the final stage in Moscow must be ecstatic. Saudi Arabia, for the first time since 2006, have made it to the World Cup. Panama have also booked for themselves a flight to Russia next year, beating the likes of the United States and Honduras to sealing automatic qualification. It is important to note that Panama have not qualified for the World Cup since the competition was created in 1930.
From a bird’s-eye view perspective of things, it appears as though all the countries from all over the world are hell-bent on qualifying and making it to the final stage of the World Cup – and rightly so. While most football fans certainly know of the cash prize the World Cup brings, they definitely do not have an inkling as to how much money is involved.
In the last World Cup back in 2014 which was held in Brazil, eventual winners Germany were awarded no less than £26-million. In addition, each player was given a £310,000 bonus. Runners-up Argentina didn’t do so badly, either. The South American side took home a total £19-million. Meanwhile, third-placed Netherlands bagged £17-million.
In total, £271-million in cash prizes were given to all the participants of the World Cup in Brazil. And next year, the total prize pot is set to be bigger.
According to FIFA, revenue has been at an all-time high in recent years and the trend can only go higher. Indeed, the global football association reached a total £3.66-billion in revenue just in 2014 alone. To put that value into consideration, the English Premier League’s latest TV rights deal agreed upon a couple of years ago, is valued at just £2-billion stretched over three years. FIFA nearly acquired double that amount in just one year.
The increase in revenue may surprise quite a few fans who keep themselves up-to date with the latest goings-on surrounding FIFA. Indeed, according to CNN, various companies have been more wary about spending their money to fund football’s largest event because of the scandals that have plagued FIFA in recent years. The organisation has been accused of pulling a few strings to land Russia the hosting rights. This, along with other charges including huge-scale bribery and shady deals, was enough to oust then president Sepp Blatter out of power.
Regardless, interest in the sport has not waned at all. Fans slowly got back into following the game they loved after FIFA elected a new president in Gianni Infantino and promised to clean up the institution. Hence the steady stream of income flowing FIFA’s way.
Therefore, it’s no wonder that just a couple of weeks ago, it was announced that the prize pot for the 2018 World Cup will boast an amount totalling £300-million – a 12% increase from the last World Cup.
Discussion as to the actual distribution of the prize pool is yet to begin. FIFA will form a special committee to decide on how the money will be divided across the 32 qualifying teams and the decision will be made before the year ends.
However, the proportion has remained the same in terms of distribution for the past competitions, and it would be no surprise if such a scheme would remain for the 2018 World Cup. If so, the grand winner in Russia is expected to receive a prize of no less than £42-million – £7-million higher than in 2014. The second-placed side could well receive £34-million, while the third-placed team will be awarded £25-million.
It is important to note that such a prize pool does not include the cash FIFA gives each country as “preparation fee”, which is compensation for expenses each qualified team has incurred en route to the final stage in Moscow. As FIFA has explained in 2014, “In addition, each of the 32 qualified teams will be granted $1.5-million (£1.27-million) for preparation costs. $70-million will be provided by FIFA via the member associations to the clubs whose players take part in the final competition as a contribution towards their participation.”
Therefore, just making it to Russia alone already earns a country £3-million. With such high-stakes on the line, it’s definitely no surprise that each team takes the World Cup seriously. That kind of money may not be too big a sum, but it will definitely help a lot of countries, especially the underdogs like Egypt, Panama, and Iceland.
Furthermore, the competition not only yields a heft amount of cash, it also brings glory to any country that wins it. After all, the tournament only comes every four years, and only eight countries have won the trophy: Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain, England, France, and Uruguay.
Who would eventually win the trophy in Russia come next year? Only time can tell.