FIFPRO: World Cup Prize Money Share Dropped As Revenue Grew

FIFPRO demands FIFA reform

FIFPRO Europe says FIFA’s failed investment proposal proves major changes to world football can’t be made by one office acting alone.

FIFPRO calls for independent review of FIFA decision-making...

FIFPRO Europe called for major reforms to FIFA’s decision-making on Monday, saying the governing body’s now-scrapped investment plan revealed serious problems in how global soccer is run.

The players’ union published a study arguing that FIFA’s abandoned Forward Enterprise (FFE) project would have turned the sport’s marquee tournaments into assets for private investors and it was done without consulting the people most affected.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino first introduced the FFE proposal earlier this year, but pulled it back after facing broad backlash. FIFPRO Europe said the governance gaps that allowed the plan to be created in the first place still haven’t been fixed.

“FFE was an attempt to convert the game's core competitions into an investable, tradable and undervalued financial asset for private capital,” the report stated. It was produced in collaboration with Player IQ and Football Benchmark.

The report lands in the middle of a broader fight over who controls the global game. In court documents tied to UEFA’s legal challenges, FIFA claimed that pushback to its plans was really about protecting Europe’s leading role in soccer.

FIFPRO Europe said it backs efforts to boost development money for smaller federations. But it argued that any new solidarity system has to be designed together with everyone involved in the sport.

 

“Any future proposal to grow solidarity funding should be built together, through trusted governance, not advanced unilaterally,” it said.

The report found that European clubs supplied 856 players to the expanded 2026 World Cup. Those players were valued at about €16.9 billion ($19.8 billion), making up 94% of the tournament’s total player value.

 

It also noted that every single one of the 20 individual award winners across the last five World Cups played for a European club.

 

FIFPRO Europe said the data shows why football’s “critical infrastructure” needs to be protected. The union called for an independent review of how the FIFA Council makes executive decisions, so major changes can’t be pushed through by one office acting alone.

The report pointed out that the portion of World Cup revenue paid out as prize money has dropped. It fell to roughly 7.7% for 2026, down from 10.5% in 2006, even as overall tournament revenue has grown sharply.

“Players receive only a fraction of that return, while participating federations rely on it as FIFA's only performance-based revenue stream,” the report said.

Fifpro demands Fifa Council probe amid Infantino World Cup sell-off row https://t.co/o60esQ0IzL

— City A.M. (@CityAM) September 14, 2026

 

The union also pushed for players, clubs and leagues to be formally included in football governance, alongside national associations.