Following the record-setting FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023™ that kicked off just over one year ago, 1,041 clubs from 48 FIFA Member Associations across all six confederations are to receive a share of the revenue for the release of players who participated at the tournament.
The funds have been made available via FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme (CBP), which was introduced for the first time ahead of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ to recognise the fundamental role that clubs play in developing players. The total amount committed to clubs that released and/or trained the stars of women’s football rose to USD 11.3m for the 2023 edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup™ from USD 8.48m four years earlier.
The increase in funding was an important part of FIFA’s USD 152m total package for participants for the tournament, and was a central element of the USD 499m that FIFA invested in the organisation of last year’s showpiece.
Nearly two million fans at the tournament’s ten stadiums – and two billion following around the world – witnessed a new standard of women’s football at last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup™, and now the clubs that played integral roles in shaping the talents of all 736 players at the tournament are to be rewarded.
“Strong clubs are crucial to the growth of women’s football, so distributing funding to over 1,000 clubs that have been instrumental in developing the world’s top female footballers is just one way that FIFA can offer its support,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. “What’s truly unique about this programme is that FIFA does not only reward the clubs that released the players for the tournament, but also the clubs that have contributed to each player’s development between the ages of 12 and 22.
“This model ensures that crucial funding – as well as the incentive for clubs to provide the best possible training and environment for female talent – reaches every part of the global football ecosystem, benefiting grassroots and professional clubs.”
The number of clubs that were identified by FIFA as eligible to receive payments via the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ CBP increased by 219 clubs from 822 in 2019 to 1,041 in 2023. Positively, the number of clubs across FIFA’s Member Associations also increased from 39 in 2019 to 48 in 2023.
Each club’s share has been determined by the role that they played in a player’s development or participation in the tournament, either as a releasing club, a training club, or both.
Each eligible releasing club will receive an equal amount per player per day at the tournament, counting from the beginning of the release period (10 July 2023) and finishing the day following the last match of the player’s national team at the tournament.
Each training club will receive an amount based on the number of training periods the player spent at the club between ages 12 and 22, with each year consisting of a maximum of two training periods. The number of days that the player spent at the tournament is also factored in, however the number of minutes played by a player in any given match at the tournament is irrelevant, with all players treated equally based on the number of days that they were at the tournament.
Credit: FIFA
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