LONDON, April 29 (NNN-Bernama-PA Media/dpa) — Football’s governing body has agreed to an increased financial pool for participating nations at this year’s World Cup, PA Media/dpa reported.
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 US$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.
The Press Association reported in February that there were concerns among European associations that they stood to lose money from competing at the tournament.
FIFA had approved record prize money of US$727 million last December to be split between the 48 finalists, including US$50 million for the winning team.
The council also approved the wiping of yellow cards at the end of the 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.
–NNN-BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa