The Sounders will earn $9.55 million for participating in the FIFA men’s Club World Cup in June.
Yes, $9.55 million just for showing up. And if they play to a goalless draw like last week’s finish against Houston? The Sounders will earn $1 million on top of the participation prize money.
FIFA on Wednesday released the breakdown of the largest purse to be distributed for a tournament in the history of soccer to date. In the first iteration of the now 32-team event, $1 billion will be sprinkled across the clubs with the winner earning up to $125 million all to be spent how owners want within their organizations.
But the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) is expected to have a $2.7 billion payout for its newly expanded tournament where the winner plays eight matches. English side Manchester City won $227 million for winning the Premier League last year and $135 million for its 2022-23 Champions League title — more than they could stack for lifting the CWC trophy this summer.
Soccer’s governing body wants to ensure the Club World Cup, a 29-day tournament played in stadiums across the U.S. beginning June 14, is taken seriously by everyone and is using money to entice some of the European clubs and even players who’ve bristled about the tournament. The main concern expressed in December when FIFA held the draw was around the added games straining players and the event being a money grab.
FIFA announced Wednesday it will not retain any funding for the tournament, including not recouping any expenses to be placed in its reserves. The organization also stated it will distribute an additional $250 million among clubs not participating in the tournament, although the process of how those teams would be selected was not specified.
“This solidarity will undoubtedly provide a significant boost in our ongoing efforts in making football truly global,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a news release.
Club World Cup broadcasting rights with streaming site DAZN, which recently received an investment from a state-backed sports agency in Saudi Arabia, sponsorships and ticket sales helped FIFA pool the prize money.
Earnings for participation were divvied by confederation. The 12 European teams will earn the most in a range from $12.81 to $38.19 million based on ranking via “sporting and commercial criteria.”
The six South American clubs will each be paid $15.21 million. Inter Miami CF, the designated host, will earn $9.5 million as part of CONCACAF with the Sounders and clubs from Asia and Africa. Oceania Football Confederation champion Auckland City FC will be paid the least at $3.58 million.
For the group-stage, winners of each match will pocket $2 million. Clubs that advance to the Round of 16 will earn $7.5 million. The quarterfinal payday is $13.125 million each and $21 million for reaching the semifinals.
The tournament finale is slated for July 13 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. where the runner-up gets $30 million, and the champion earns $40 million.
Should the Sounders win the tournament, their take home money would be a maximum of $97.175 million. Few expect Seattle to make it past the group stage, experts regarding their Group B as the most difficult in the field.
All the Sounders’ group-stage matches will be held at Lumen Field. They’ll open June 15 against reigning South American champion Botafogo. Seattle will host 11-time Spanish champion Atlético Madrid on June 19 and finish against 12-time French champion Paris Saint-Germain on June 23.
Lumen will also host three group-stage matches for Group E. Argentina’s CA River Plate will play Japan’s Urawa Red Diamonds on June 17. Italy’s FC Internazionale Milano will play the Red Diamonds on June 21, and Milano will kickoff against River Plate on June 25 for the final match in Seattle.
The top two finishers from group play will advance to the knockout rounds.
“The River fans are going to turn the stadium where we’re going to play [into another Estadio Monumental]. Not just in Seattle, but also in other cities,” said River midfielder Enzo Pérez, as translated from Spanish, about his home field. “The competition is still some way off, so we haven’t really got into that yet because, being at River, you focus on the here and now [but] when you’re at a club like the institution that is River, the target is always to win and play well.”
Seattle qualified for the Club World Cup as the 2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup winners. The title also qualified the Sounders for the previous format of the CWC that featured the six regional confederation winners and a host, playing in Morocco in February 2023. The Sounders lost their opener 1-0 to Egypt’s Al Ahly FC.
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