According to Gianni Infantino, president of the highest football entity, initiative intends to recognize the importance of clubs in the development of players
It announced it on Tuesday (16) that it will distribute nearly $ 2 billion to the teams who have given their players for the valid games for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. The measure is part of the club help program, which will have a record fund of $ 355 million (around $ 1.8 billion), almost 70% more than the Qatar World Cup, 2022.
According to a statement on the entity’s official website, the renewal of the memorandum between FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA), which occurred in March 2023, all associations included in this case will be entitled to a part of the budget of $ 355 million.
Second, FIFA President, the initiative intends to recognize the importance of clubs in players development, from the early stages to their participation in the decisive games of the National Team. “The new edition of the FIFA Club Assistance Program for the 2026 World Cup will take a step further and financially recognize the immense contribution of clubs and players from around the world to enable the qualifiers and the final phase of the tournament,” said the agent. “A record value will be distributed. Thus, we strengthen our solid partnership with the European Club Association (ECA) and clubs around the world. We all yearned for a historic and inclusive World Cup next year,” added the leader.
For ECA, led by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, collaboration with the entity that runs world football in this new version of the program reinforces the commitment to ensure that clubs from all regions obtain recognition and financial support. “ECA is pleased to collaborate with FIFA to support the development of the innovative program. This will ensure that more clubs around the world are rewarded for giving in to give their players,” he said.
At the 2022 World Cup, during the fourth edition of the Club Help Program, $ 209 million were distributed among 440 clubs from 51 FIFA confederations.
*With information from Estadão Content
Posted by Nicolas Robert
