Europe’s top-flight clubs to receive half of $250m (£185m) Club World Cup solidarity pot
Europe’s top-flight clubs will share half of the $250m (£185m) solidarity pot from last year’s US‑hosted Club World Cup, the Guardian understands. Fifa and European Football Clubs are reported to be close to a deal to split the fund 50-50 between European sides and clubs in the rest of the world, with distribution subject to ratification.
The $250m fund was set aside to ensure the competition contributes to football’s wider ecosystem and will be distributed once the agreement is ratified. European Football Clubs had initially sought just over 60% of the pot but compromised after Fifa insisted on a more equal global distribution. Under the proposed arrangement Europe’s share would total $125m, to be allocated across eligible clubs and competitions.
A portion of the $125m is earmarked for all top‑division European clubs that did not participate in the tournament, with individual payments varying according to the number of seasons a club competed at that level between 2021 and 2024. Additional payments are proposed for clubs with the best performance in Uefa club competitions during the same period, again only for those that did not play in the US‑staged tournament in 2025. The structure, combining seasonal eligibility and performance criteria, raises the likelihood of clubs receiving wildly varying payments.
Liverpool, noted in the report as the Champions League runners‑up in 2022, is cited among those likeliest to be near the higher end of the payout scale. The differential in payments reflects the eligibility and performance-based elements built into the distribution formula.
EFC will stage its general assembly in Copenhagen on Tuesday; the agreement is expected to require approval by the Fifa council, which is scheduled to meet in Zurich on 15 October, before any funds are released. Once those approvals are completed the mechanics for disbursing the solidarity payments will be put into effect.
Clubs from smaller leagues had expressed particular frustration at the prolonged delay in receiving the funds, which in many cases can represent an important financial resource. As the Guardian reported in August, EFC threatened Fifa that it would not cooperate with future Club World Cups if Gianni Infantino did not withdraw his ill-fated Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme. In the same letter EFC said the lack of a solution on Club World Cup solidarity payments was "of serious disappointment to EFC and our member clubs".
A planned joint venture between EFC and Fifa, intended to involve managing the commercial side of global club competitions, remains on the table but is described as unlikely to be signed in the near future given the turbulence surrounding world football’s leadership. Gianni Infantino addressed the EFC general assembly in Rome last year, but a repeat appearance is not deemed likely this time given the prospect of a direct encounter with adversaries such as the Uefa president, Aleksander Ceferin. Infantino travelled to Riga on Monday for the opening of new offices at the Latvian Football Association, and the Fifa secretary general, Mattias Grafström, is expected to be among the delegates in Copenhagen.
If the EFC assembly confirms the deal and the Fifa council approves it at its meeting in Zurich on 15 October, the solidarity fund distribution to eligible clubs will proceed in line with the agreed allocation formula.