[WEGO Sports News] $1 Billion War! 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Rewrites Football History

The prize pool for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup has been revealed. The British outlet ‘Goal.com’ reported on March 6 (GMT+9) that “32 clubs are expected to share the largest prize pool in football history” and that “a total of $1 billion in prizes will be awarded in this tournament.”

The FIFA Club World Cup is a tournament where the world's best football clubs participate, which began in 2008. Previously, a total of 7 clubs, including the winners of continental club competitions and the host country's league champion, competed in a tournament format.

However, starting this year, the tournament format has been revamped, bringing major changes. The tournament is held every 4 years, and the number of participating clubs has increased to 32. Qualification is given to teams that have won continental club competitions over the past 4 years, and additional teams are selected based on club rankings from each continental federation. The host country is also granted one spot.

The prize money has also grown significantly. 'Goal.com' reported that "while a record-breaking prize pool of $1 billion has been set, FIFA has not disclosed specific details on how they secured the tournament funds." They added that "FIFA raised funds through major sponsorship deals and broadcasting rights contracts." In particular, London-based streaming service 'DAZN' secured exclusive global broadcasting rights for this tournament, and FIFA announced that they had signed sponsorship agreements with global companies such as Coca-Cola, Bank of America, Chinese electronics company Hisense, and Belgian beer company AB InBev.

According to the British 'Independent', the prize money is divided into participation fees and performance-based compensation. The media explained, "$575 million will be paid as participation fees, and $465 million will be paid based on performance," adding that "participation fees are not distributed equally to all clubs."

FIFA President Gianni Infantino emphasized, "The FIFA Club World Cup is a tournament at the pinnacle of club football," adding "This tournament will benefit all clubs, and the tournament revenue will be distributed to the clubs. FIFA will not take any profit."