FIFA has confirmed it is in discussions with national football associations to increase prize money for all 48 teams participating in the World Cup, following requests from European teams.

The world governing body said on Sunday it is set to fulfill wishes for higher prize money and assistance with costs associated with participation in this summer's tournament.

The proposal must be approved at Tuesday's FIFA Council meeting, held before the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada.

FIFA announced a record World Cup prize fund of $727 million in December, with the winning team taking home $50 million and each team receiving at least $10.5 million. Since then, FIFA and national associations have engaged in talks to resolve the issue.

UEFA contacted FIFA after hearing from several member associations regarding the costs of participating in the World Cup, including travel, operations and taxes, particularly in the United States. Canada and Mexico are the other host countries.

FIFA said the prize money is set to increase, with the governing body projected to surpass $11 billion in revenue in the current four-year cycle of 2023 to 2026.

“FIFA can confirm it is in discussions with associations around the world to increase available revenues,” a FIFA spokesperson told Reuters.

“This includes a proposed increase of financial contributions to all qualified teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and of development funding available to all 211 member associations.”

The largest slice of FIFA's initial funding package for the North American showpiece – $655 million – was to be performance-based payments to the 48 participating nations.

Additionally, each qualified nation would be entitled to $1.5 million to cover preparation costs.

FIFA's 2025 annual report said 93 percent of its total budgeted revenue had already been contracted by the end of 2025, thanks to the success of the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup held in the US last year.

The World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19.

Source: www.aljazeera.com