ZURICH: FIFA Council has approved $1bn for this year’s inaugural, expanded Club World Cup.

This injection of cash was confirmed as FIFA Council approved an annual report for 2024, including a revised budget revenue target of $13bn for the 2023-2026 cycle that will see nearly 90pc invested back in the game to boost global football development.

The revised budget incorporates $2bn in revenues from the Club World Cup with $1bn shared among the participating clubs plus a solidarity mechanism towards club football across the world.

President Gianni Infantino said: “The Club World Cup will not only be the pinnacle of club football, but also a vivid demonstration of solidarity that will benefit clubs at large to a scale that no other competition has ever done.

“All revenue generated by the tournament will be distributed to the participating clubs and via club solidarity across the world as FIFA will not keep a single dollar. FIFA’s reserves, which are there for global football development, will remain untouched.”

“At the same time, we are making a record investment of almost $2.3bn in the FIFA Forward Programme during the 2023-2026 cycle, which means that by 2026 we will have made the unprecedented amount of up to $5.1bn available for football development since 2016.”

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