EXCLUSIVE: Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic set for massive FIFA World Cup windfall after qualification heroics

Roberto Lopes was a part of Cape Verde’s historic qualification, guaranteeing Rovers a huge sum, while St Patrick’s Athletic will also cash in.

Shamrock Rovers and St Patrick’s Athletic will both net six-figure windfalls thanks to Cape Verde’s historic World Cup qualification and Ghana’s progress to the finals. FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme (CBP) will see the money pour into the two League of Ireland clubs, thanks to the involvements of Roberto Lopes (Rovers) and Joseph Anang (St Pat’s) in their respective countries’ qualification successes.

Neither would need to feature in the finals for their clubs to benefit, as the CBP, from this tournament on, has been expanded to cover the clubs of players that were called up for qualifiers, regardless of whether they make the cut next summer.

A FIFA statement last month read: “For the first time since its inception, the CBP distribution principles have been adjusted to now allow every club whose players directly feature either in the FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers or the final tournament to receive a share of the solidarity fund.

“This new approach means that any club that releases a player for a FIFA World Cup 26 qualifier will now be directly compensated for said release, irrespective of whether the player plays at the final tournament, an additional step to increase solidarity aimed at providing a fairer and more inclusive redistribution across global club football.”

Lopes was a regular for Cape Verde as they topped their group ahead of Cameroon, while Anang was in the Ghana squad as they sealed their spot in the finals on Sunday with a win over Comoros.

As for the figures involved, FIFA have grown their fund from $209million (€180million) in 2022 and 2018 to $355million (€307million) for the 2026 tournament.

Clubs received around $10,950-per-player-per-day (€9,458) in 2022. The increase to the fund by almost 70 percent will likely see an increase in that figure, but the rise will be tempered by the fact that more players will have to be covered by the payments, given the expansion of the tournament from 32 teams to 48, and the inclusion of players called up by World Cup-bound nations for their qualifiers.

FIFA have yet to issue clear parameters regarding whether the payments would kick in once players officially go into camp ahead of the tournament, or whether only days from the June 11 start date would count.

But it is believed that a period ahead of the opening day will be included when tallying what each club is entitled to receive.

The scheme has been in operation since the 2010 World Cup and in the last edition in Qatar payments were made to 440 clubs across 51 member nations. Manchester City were the biggest recipients, as they received $4.6million (€3.97million).

Explaining the increase both in funding and in the clubs entitled to a share of the money, FIFA president Gianni Infantino stated: “The enhanced edition of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going a step further by recognising financially the huge contribution that so many clubs and their players around the world make to the staging of both the qualifiers and the final tournament.

“A record USD 355 million will be distributed to clubs for the release of their players, and this reinforces our solid collaboration with the European Club Association and clubs worldwide as we all look forward to a groundbreaking and globally inclusive edition of the FIFA World Cup next year.”

The new CPB was drawn up in collaboration with the European Club Association.

ECA Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaïfi said “At ECA we are pleased to have collaborated with FIFA to support the development of this innovative new FIFA Club Benefits Programme. It will ensure even more clubs across the world are rewarded for releasing players and highlights exactly how ECA’s Memorandum of Understanding with FIFA supports the ongoing growth of the global club game.

“Clubs play a pivotal role in the success of national team football and this initiative recognises every element of it, from early development through to release for the most important games. We look forward to continuing to work closely with FIFA, and the global football community, to ensure we keep driving growth and development of international football.”

FIFA will release further details on the CBP distribution model, along with the registration process for eligible clubs, in due course.

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