Crystal Palace were expecting to receive at least £2.7m in compensation from FIFA after releasing 12 contracted players for the World Cup.
Under the scheme at the 2022 World Cup, clubs received a payment for each day their players were away at the tournament, a figure experts presumed would be larger at the 2026 World Cup as the total pot increased from $209m (£155m) to $355m (£264m).
The expectation was that the Eagles would bank at least £2.7m from the 12 players involved in the group stage – with more to come after all 12 progressed into the Round of 32.
However, Adam Williams has now informed We Are Palace that Crystal Palace are set to receive less than initially expected as FIFA President Gianni Infantino rings the changes.
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The Head of Football Finance and Governance Content at GRV Media said: “So, one day after we last spoke about this topic, FIFA wrote to clubs outlining their methodology for how they are going to distribute the money they’ve ring-fenced for the Club Benefits Programme, and there is some very surprising information in there.
“The biggest take-home is that, despite increasing the total value of the pot from $209m (£155m) in 2022 to $355m (£264m) in 2026, the day rate for players is actually shrinking by a significant amount. FIFA say they anticipate that it will be a minimum of $5,000 (£3,766) per day now, which is less than half what it was in Qatar. The reason for that, they say, is because $100m (£75m) is set aside for clubs who released players for the qualifiers too, plus you also have to spread some of the money from the main pot across 48 teams as opposed to the 32 who played in Qatar.
“Effectively, that means FIFA have slashed the money that Palace can expect to earn by more than half. It also appears that they may have changed the date for when the scheme starts, but we don’t know what the specific change is there yet. But if we go from the standard 1 June starting point until now, my arithmetic puts that payout to Palace at just under £1.5m.
“If they had the same number of players reach the same stage in Qatar, they’d be well past £3m by now.”
Williams – who has also spoken about the financial benefits of UEFA Europa League football next season – added: “The caveat here is that Palace will, at some point, receive a share from FIFA for the players they released for qualifying too. The rate there is even lower at $2,362 (£1,779) per player, per day. That will top the final amount up, but it still won’t reach what it would have been under the previous system.
“I do think it’s strange that FIFA only released this information a few days before the start of the tournament, despite boasting about the larger $355m (£264m) pot well, well in advance. But that’s typical of the smoke and mirrors and self-aggrandising we have seen from FIFA in the run-up to this tournament.”
