Clubs earn millions from players at the World Cup

Every team that releases its player for the World Cup in Russia will receive 8,530 dollars per day for that player. That is three times more than last time.

In the past, every football club in the world was proud when one of its players appeared at the World Cup. That is still true, but for almost a decade now, clubs have also been receiving money from FIFA for releasing players. The financial package for this purpose has increased sharply ahead of next year’s tournament in Russia. While before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil the federation distributed 70 million dollars to clubs, now it will be triple that amount. This follows from documents FIFA sent to all national federations. “The main idea is to show solidarity in favour of the clubs. It proves the negotiating power of the European Club Association,” said Jozef Tokos, sports analyst and football agent, for the Economic Daily.

Every day counts
When calculating the amount each club is entitled to, every single day is counted. Each player is worth 8,530 dollars per day. Even though the opening match between hosts Russia and Australia will be played on 14 June, clubs are entitled to payments starting two weeks earlier – specifically from the first day of the month until the day the national team’s tournament ends. “The Club Association pushed for this increase in funds, which will mostly help the richest clubs. It is the big clubs that supply the most quality players to the World Cup,” said Tokos. At the last tournament three years ago, Bayern Munich earned the most – 1.73 million dollars – from its players’ participation. The portal Inside World Football estimates that this time the amount could exceed five million dollars. Slovak players will not earn their clubs anything this time, since the national team failed to qualify for the final tournament. However, Slovak clubs can still earn money for foreign players who represent other national teams at the World Cup.

Chance for DAC
The most realistic chance of receiving FIFA money for a player belongs to DAC Dunajska Streda – specifically for Panama international Eric Davis, a regular in his national team with over 30 caps. “This will be Panama’s first-ever participation at the World Cup, which attracts even more media attention to the players and the team. Such participation can also have indirect benefits for the club,” said DAC sports director Jan Van Daele. Those benefits can include increased shirt sales with Davis’s name, greater foreign interest in the club, and the potential to attract new partners. “The value of a player who performs at such a tournament will naturally rise,” said Van Daele, a Belgian lawyer who has been DAC’s sports director since May last year. He admits that Eric Davis will likely be the only player from the Slovak Fortuna Liga whose name appears on a World Cup squad list. “That means we have to realistically recognise our league’s position in international football and focus on developing players,” Van Daele said. If Davis plays at the World Cup, DAC could receive over 200,000 dollars from FIFA.

Memories of Africa
FIFA first introduced the programme of payments to clubs for World Cup players in 2008, with the first payments made for the 2010 tournament in South Africa. That was also the first and so far only time Slovakia participated. “We earned some money for our players back then – we had Zdeno Strba, Dusan Pernis, and I think Peter Pekarik was also counted,” recalled MSK Zilina sports manager Karol Belanik. But while now the payment per player per day is over 8,000 dollars, before the 2010 World Cup it was “only” 1,600 dollars. According to FIFA data, Slovak clubs earned 198,000 dollars for their players back then. “Such programmes are positive for clubs. But let’s be realistic – our league has the viewership it has and cannot compare to top competitions. Only in exceptional cases will a player from our top division appear at a tournament like the World Cup,” Belanik added.