Fifa Club World Cup ‘solidarity money’ figure revealed in bid to appease Chelsea and Man City rivals | OneFootball

Clubs not participating in Fifa's Club World Cup are set to receive "solidarity money" of at least $150m (£116m), out of a planned tournament budget of $2bn (£1.55bn), sources have told The Independent.

The world governing body is then committing $1bn (£776m) of prize money to the 32 clubs involved in this summer's event, with $575m (£446m) based on participation and $465m (£361m) based on sporting performance.

That could see Manchester City and Chelsea receive between $60m (£46.58m) and $90m (£69.86m) each, with that figure set to rise to as much as $100m (£77.6m) depending on performances at the tournament. The development has raised concern among rivals and other stakeholders about the potential disruptive effect of such money.

The figures were discussed at a Fifa Council meeting over video call on Wednesday afternoon, although specific details still have to be finalised.

The $575m (£446.3m) towards participation will not just be an even split of $16.4m (£12.7m) between the 32 clubs, for example, but is expected to be graded based on confederation.

The logic there is that the figure Auckland City receive, for example, would not be as competitively distortive to football in New Zealand and Oceania.

The issue has still provoked one of the biggest debates around a so-far controversial tournament, with some stakeholders feeling the money on offer will actively change football. There had long been doubt over whether Fifa would have even been able to offer so much, but a $1bn (£776m) December deal with streaming platform Dazn has solved any problems the global body might have had.

Around $850m (£659.7m) will go on costs, itself a potentially political issue given the possible effects on the American economy and cost from the recent decisions of US President Donald Trump's administration. Fifa feels it is a sign of the planning's success so far that they will not have to dip into their reserves, but also that the body itself receives no revenue, with all of the money going to clubs.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino (PA Archive)

Some critics have long pointed out that one of the motivations of the tournament is political, especially with how it keeps much of Fifa president Gianni Infantino's support base happy. Its defenders counter that it is high time that more of the Western European game's wealth is spread around the rest of football.

That has been one of the more noble aims of the expanded Club World Cup idea for some time, but there remains a belief that the prize money could shift the problem of financial inequality in a different way. Chelsea and City would have much more leeway with PSR, for example, with that disparity even more keenly felt in less wealthy countries.

That is also why the issue of "solidarity money" is so important, as it potentially softens differences. The current plan is for a figure of $150m (£116.4m), which would represent around 13% of total prize money, although there is still a hope that can still be raised to $250m (£194.0m. It is set to become a highly political issue, with some stakeholders already complaining that the figures won't mean much after they are divided among all of Fifa's six confederations.