By Jonty Colman BBC Sport journalist Published 45 minutes ago Fifa has pledged to pay clubs $355m (£265m) for releasing players to take part in the 2026 World Cup - and for allowing them to play in qualifying matches.
Clubs who have players competing at this summer's tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada have the potential to collect millions during the tournament as a result.
That is because of the Fifa Club Benefit Programme, designed to compensate clubs whose players are away with their national teams for weeks on end.
For the first time, Fifa is also compensating clubs whose players contested the World Cup qualifiers.
Payments have been made to clubs for releasing players to feature at the World Cup since the 2010 tournament. The 2022 World Cup led to payments of $209m (£156m on current exchange rate), split between 440 clubs from 51 different nations.
Payments are made on a per player, per day basis. Essentially, the more players that a club has at a tournament and the longer they are there, the more money their clubs receive.
Of the $355m total club compensation pot, $250m (£187m) is dedicated to the tournament itself.
Another $100m (£75m) is for the qualifying round matches, while the remaining $5m (£3.75m) will be allocated to the benefit of club football based on an agreement between Fifa and European Football Clubs (EFC) after the deduction of administrative costs related to the implementation of the programme.
From the day of release to attend the tournament, players earn clubs a fee of $5,000 (£3,730) per day until the day after their team's final match of the tournament.
For qualifying round matches, players earned their club $2,362 (£1,765) for every qualifying match when they were in a matchday squad.
The mid-tournament day rate has reduced by more than half of the day rate at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, this year's tournament is significantly longer and features 16 more teams, rising from 32 to 48 national sides.
For the 2022 World Cup, a total of $209m (£155.6m) was given to clubs by Fifa. This worked out at a rate of $10,950 (£8,150) per player per day.
The programme first launched for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa following an agreement between Fifa and the European Club Association.
The shortest amount of time a team can be in the tournament is 14 days. That marks the time from the start of the tournament to the end of the group stage for Group A nations.
Fifa's mandatory date for clubs to release players was 25 May, and the day after their nation's final match will also be counted, meaning the minimum for the tournament a player can earn for their club is $160,000 (£119,500).
Should a team reach the final, that would consist of 57 days' participation, including the day after the tournament. For those players, that would mean a payment to their club of $285,000 (£212,900).
Contact form Contact form How does it work in the event of mid-season transfers and expiring contracts? Image source, Getty Images Image caption, All players in the 2026 World Cup and its qualifying matches will earn revenue for their clubs
Because the World Cup takes place during the summer, when players may move clubs in the transfer window or their contracts may expire, there are a few scenarios where payments are spread between teams or not given at all.
If a player's contract expires and they are to become a free agent, their club at the start of the tournament will only be paid until 30 June, a date when many players in European football see their contracts run out.
In the situation where a player moves clubs after the expiry of their contract to the start of a new one elsewhere, such as Andy Robertson leaving Liverpool to join Tottenham, the payment is split. In this scenario, Liverpool will receive payments until 30 June and Tottenham will take on any payments from 1 July onward.
If a player moves club as the result of a transfer without an expiring contract (both permanent or loan), the club they originally played for will be paid until the transfer is processed. From then on, the player's new club will receive the payments.
Players are not eligible to earn payments for their clubs on dates when they are a free agent either during the World Cup or for qualifying round matches.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.
Why has Iraola only signed a two-year contract at Liverpool?
How many World Cup shirts might not be worn in matches?
Which clubs have the most players at the 2026 World Cup?
Sources: BBC Sport
