2022 World Cup prize money: How does it work and how much do the winners get?
By Max Parsons
The World Cup is undeniably the most prestigious prize in football - it's the one that every child grows up dreaming of lifting for their country.
The honour of holding aloft that glistening golden trophy is enough to drive any player's ambition; but this is football we're talking about - of course there's a monetary motivation.
But just how much money is involved in the World Cup?
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How is World Cup prize money decided?
As you'd expect, the World Cup prize money set aside by FIFA is distributed according to how well each team performs in the tournament - the further a country progresses, the more money its football association will be awarded.
Federations can expect a healthy slice of the pie whatever happens, however, with FIFA reportedly giving out a total prize pot of just under £600m this year.
How much do the World Cup winners earn?
The healthiest of those aforementioned slices, of course, is given out to the champions.
FIFA will give out a whopping £35m to the winning nation's federation for their triumphant exploits in Qatar this winter - up from France's winnings of around £30m for their victorious campaign four years ago.
World Cup prize money by round
While the winners receive a tasty £35m, the World Cup runners-up by no means leave Qatar empty-handed, with a reported prize fee of £25m.
The third and fourth-placed teams are also well looked after with earnings of £23m and £21m respectively, while quarter-finalists earn £14m.
Progressing past the group stage will earn a country £11m, while falling at the first hurdle will also guarantee a federation a cool £7.5m - not too shabby, eh?
How much do players earn at the World Cup?
Unlike at club level, players competing for their nations do not take home a set salary, but rather receive a match fee for each cap they earn.
This fee varies from federation to federation but the English squad, for example, reportedly earned £2,500 for every game they started at the 2014 World Cup, while those that sat out still saw £1,500 come their way.
Bonuses are a feature of the international game as well, though. Australian players will reportedly be given £164,000 if they reach the knockout stage, while the FA was set to evenly distribute a bonus of £5m among the squad if they won the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In any case, the Three Lions squad has been donating their earnings from international duty to charity since 2007 - with players like Kylian Mbappe also opting for the charitable route regarding their international winnings
What is the pay difference between the men and women's World Cup?
There is a seismic disparity in the prize money awarded in men's and women's football. And this topic, the subject of hot debate, is no more evident than on the world stage.
While the winners of the men's 2022 World Cup will take home £35m, the USWNT - champions of the women's 2019 World Cup - were awarded around £3.5m (less than half of what group-stage dumpees in Qatar will recoup) of a prize pot worth around £25m, compared to FIFA's prize budget of £590m for this winter's tournament.