Published

$42 Million to Win, $9 Million to Show Up — and a 4x Gender Gap

The dataset tells you who won. This one tells you what it paid. Ranked by prize money, Qatar 2022 ran from Argentina's $42M for lifting the trophy down to $9M for each of the 16 teams knocked out i...

The worldcup dataset tells you who won. This one tells you what it paid.

What 2022 paid, team by team

Ranked by prize money, Qatar 2022 ran from Argentina's $42M for lifting the trophy down to $9M for each of the 16 teams knocked out in the group stage. Those 32 payouts sum to exactly the $440M published pool.

What each team takes home

FIFA splits the World Cup prize pool by how far you go. At Qatar 2022, that meant:

FinishTeamsEach earned
Winner1$42M
Runner-up1$30M
Third place1$27M
Fourth place1$25M
Quarter-finals (5th–8th)4$17M
Round of 16 (9th–16th)8$13M
Group stage (17th–32nd)16$9M

Argentina's $42M down to $9M for each of the 16 teams that went home after the group stage. Those 32 cheques add up to exactly $440 million — the published prize pool. Every edition's per-team payouts sum to the official pool to the dollar (2010 $348M, 2014 $358M, 2018 $400M, 2022 $440M).

The winner's cheque keeps growing

EditionWinner getsTotal pool
2010 South Africa$30M$348M
2014 Brazil$35M$358M
2018 Russia$38M$400M
2022 Qatar$42M$440M
2026 USA/CAN/MEX$50M$655M

2026 is the big jump — a 48-team field, a $655M pool, and a brand-new Round-of-32 payout band. Each schedule sums to its pool too: 50+33+29+27 + 19×4 + 15×8 + 11×16 + 9×16 = $655M.

The gap the money exposes

Put the men's and women's prize pools side by side and the story is stark:

  • The 2022 men's pool was $440M. The 2023 women's pool was $110M — a 4-to-1 gap.
  • Women's World Cup prize money was $0 until 2007, then $5.8M (2007) → $30M (2019) → $110M (2023).
  • FIFA has committed to prize-money parity by 2027 — which is why the women's 2027 row is a placeholder (target announced, figure to be confirmed).

Sources

  • FIFA announcements — the per-position payout schedules for each edition (compiled via topendsports and contemporaneous reporting).
  • FIFA final standings — top-four placements.
  • Fjelstul World Cup Database — each team's furthest stage, used to place it in a payout band.