MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FIFA announces 358m dollars of prize money for the 2014 Cup

The Cup winner will pocket 35m dollars and the runner up, 25m said Valcke

The 32 teams at next year's World Cup finals will share a total fund of 576 million dollars, including a prize-money pot of 358m with the winners taking home 35m, FIFA said on Thursday. The amount of money made available to the countries taking part has increased 37% from the 420m on offer at the 2010 finals in South Africa.

 The decision was announced by FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke at a news conference following the two-day FIFA executive committee, which ended on Thursday.

The runners-up in Brazil next year will pocket 25m, while the third-placed team will take home 22m and the fourth-placed team 20m. The four teams eliminated in the quarter-finals will leave with 14m; teams in the last 16 will receive 9m; and those eliminated in the first round will get 8m. In addition, each of the 32 finalists will receive 1.5m for their “preparation costs”, up 500,000 dollars on 2010.

“There will also be awards of 70m for the clubs whose players are taking part in the World Cup and, in addition to that, 20m will be given as a legacy to Brazilian football,” Valcke said.

“We will not wait for the start of the World Cup for that, those payments will start immediately and will rise to 100m in the future.”

Valcke confirmed that the legacy money would be ploughed into grassroots football in Brazil as well as education and health projects linked to football in the country.

The grand total of 576m includes a figure of 100m available as insurance for players injured while playing for their national teams, known as the club protection program.