European clubs are set to receive $125m (£92.5m) from the solidarity fund created by Fifa after last year’s expanded Club World Cup.
Fifa and the European Football Clubs (EFC) are close to finalising a 50-50 split of the $250m fund between European clubs and those elsewhere in the world. The payments will be made after the agreement is formally approved.
EFC had initially sought more than 60% of the fund but accepted an equal division after Fifa argued for a broader distribution across the global game.
The European share will not be divided equally. Top-flight clubs that did not qualify for the tournament in the US will receive payments based partly on how many seasons they spent in their country’s top division between 2021 and 2024.
A separate allocation will be made according to clubs’ performances in Uefa competitions over the same period. Only clubs that did not participate in last year’s Club World Cup will qualify.
Liverpool, who were Champions League runners-up in 2022, are among the clubs expected to receive a larger payment under the performance-based element.
The agreement is expected to be confirmed after the EFC general assembly in Copenhagen on Tuesday and will then require approval from the Fifa council, which is due to meet in Zurich on 15 October.
The delay has caused particular concern among clubs from smaller European leagues, for whom the solidarity payments can represent an important source of income. The Club World Cup itself generated far larger immediate rewards for its participants, with Chelsea receiving £84m after winning the tournament in July 2025.
The solidarity fund was established to ensure that the expanded competition provided financial support beyond the clubs taking part. However, talks over its distribution became entangled in wider tensions between Fifa and European football.
In August, EFC threatened to withdraw its cooperation from future Club World Cups unless Fifa president Gianni Infantino abandoned his proposed Fifa Forward Enterprise scheme. The organisation also criticised the lack of progress over the solidarity payments.
A separate plan for EFC and Fifa to work together on the commercial management of global club competitions remains under discussion, although there is no expectation of an immediate agreement.
The relationship between Fifa and European football’s leadership has deteriorated further in recent months, with Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin among Infantino’s most prominent critics. Infantino is not expected to attend Tuesday’s EFC meeting in Copenhagen.
The Fifa secretary general, Mattias Grafstrom, is expected to represent the organisation in Denmark, while the Fifa council’s approval of the solidarity agreement is scheduled for 15 October.
