[AFP]
[AFP]

Spain's national football team is set to collect a record payout after winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America.

Spain defeated Argentina 1-0 in the final at MetLife Stadium in New York on Monday (Korean Standard Time), claiming its second World Cup title and first since the 2010 tournament in South Africa — a gap of 16 years.

The victory earns the Royal Spanish Football Federation a championship prize of $50 million.

On top of that, Spain will receive a $10 million participation fee and a $1.5 million preparation support grant, bringing its total payout to $61.5 million (about 91.5 billion won). The federation will determine how much of that sum is distributed to the players and in what form.

The $50 million winner's prize is the largest in World Cup history, surpassing the $42 million Argentina received after winning the 2022 Qatar tournament by $8 million.

The total purse for the North and Central America World Cup — the first edition held with a 48-nation format — stands at $655 million.

Runner-up Argentina will take home $33 million in prize money from this tournament. Third-place England receives $29 million, while fourth-place France collects $27 million.

Quarterfinalists receive $19 million each, and teams that reached the round of 16 receive $15 million.

South Korea, eliminated in the group stage, will still receive $9 million. Every team that qualified for the tournament also received a separate $1.5 million preparation support grant.

Meanwhile, Spain's players will receive not only prize money but also championship rings engraved with the World Cup trophy — a tradition borrowed from American professional sports. It marks the first time championship rings have been awarded to a World Cup-winning team.


min3654@heraldcorp.com