Professional footballers earn enormous salaries at club level, but the financial picture changes significantly when they pull on a national jersey. At major tournaments like the World Cup, the question of player pay is more nuanced than most fans realise.

FIFA's prize pot for World Cup 2026

FIFA will distribute approximately £658 million ($871 million) among the 48 nations competing at World Cup 2026 — a 15 percent increase on the £549 million ($727 million) shared out during Qatar 2022. The champions will pocket $50 million (£38 million), with smaller bonuses awarded for advancing through each stage of the competition.

Each participating nation receives a base participation fee from FIFA, and it is then up to individual football federations to decide how those funds — along with any additional appearance fees — are allocated to their players.

England players donate their fees to charity

England players are technically entitled to appearance fees from the Football Association, believed to be around £2,500 per cap — a fraction of their weekly club wages. However, since 2007, none of those payments have gone directly to the players themselves.

Instead, England's squad has collectively agreed to donate every penny to the England Football Foundation charity. Since the scheme began, the players have contributed more than £15 million to the charity — a remarkable sum by any measure.

The FA has never publicly disclosed the exact fee amounts, but the gesture has become one of English football's more quietly admired traditions.

Mbappe and the charitable precedent

England are not alone in forgoing their tournament earnings. Kylian Mbappe donated his appearance fees from Russia 2018 and again from Qatar 2022, giving up both his match fees and prize money from those campaigns. Whether any other players will follow suit at the 2026 tournament remains to be confirmed.

For most national squads, however, federation payments and FIFA prize distributions represent genuine income — particularly meaningful for players from nations where federation budgets are far tighter than those of the European elite.