Even Last Place Gets 12 Billion Won... Qatar World Cup Prize Money

Total Prize Money Approximately 585.6 Billion KRW, Largest Ever
Winning Country Receives About 56 Billion KRW... 12 Billion KRW Even If Losing All Group Matches
Korean Team Prize Money: 100 Million KRW for Round of 16, 200 Million KRW for Quarterfinals

2022 Qatar World Cup Championship Trophy. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Intern Lee Gyehwa] The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) will award the largest prize money ever to participating countries and football associations at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. According to the Korea Football Association on the 25th, the total prize money offered by FIFA amounts to approximately $440 million (about 585.64 billion KRW). The winning country will receive $42 million (about 55.9 billion KRW). Among the 32 teams that advance to the finals, the 16 countries eliminated in the group stage will also receive $9 million (about 11.979 billion KRW).

The runner-up will receive $30 million (about 39.93 billion KRW) in prize money. The 3rd and 4th place countries will be awarded $27 million (about 35.937 billion KRW) and $25 million (about 33.275 billion KRW), respectively. Teams advancing to the round of 16 will receive $13 million (about 17.033 billion KRW), and those reaching the quarterfinals will be awarded $17 million (about 22.627 billion KRW).

All prize money is paid by FIFA, not the host country. The economic capacity to provide such large sums comes from massive revenues generated during the World Cup from ticket sales, broadcasting rights, and advertising fees. FIFA announced that "as of November 20, approximately 3 million tickets have been sold." This figure surpasses the 2.4 million tickets sold for the 2018 Russia World Cup as of the opening day.

FIFA also compensates clubs worldwide that sent players to the World Cup. The total amount to be paid is reported to be about ?190 million (approximately 306.983 billion KRW). Tottenham, where Son Heung-min plays, will receive ?1.77 million (about 2.8505 billion KRW) for its 11 players participating in the World Cup. Chelsea will receive ?1.99 million (about 3.2 billion KRW) for 12 players, Manchester United, which allowed 14 players to participate, will get ?2.26 million (about 3.64036 billion KRW), and Manchester City, which sent 16 players including Belgian national team member Kevin De Bruyne, will receive ?2.58 million (about 4.15333 billion KRW).

In Korea's case, each of the 26 players on the roster will receive a basic participation bonus of 20 million KRW. If the team advances to the round of 16, players will receive 100 million KRW, and if they reach the quarterfinals, the bonus will be 200 million KRW.