Leicester City to earn share of £262m FIFA fund via World Cup pair | OneFootball

Leicester City are set to receive a slice of FIFA’s $355m (£262m) Club Benefits Programme thanks to World Cup involvement for Abdul Fatawu and Harry Souttar.

According to LeicesterMercury.co.uk, Souttar has been named in Australia’s squad after returning from injury in April, while Fatawu is expected to join Ghana in North America.

FIFA has allocated £262m to compensate clubs for players at the finals, qualifiers and the play-off tournament. President Gianni Infantino said last year that a record $355m would be distributed to clubs releasing players.

A daily rate for 2026 is yet to be confirmed. Four years ago clubs received $10,950 (£8,100) per day from official release, understood to be 10 days before a team’s first match, until elimination.

Australia are in Group D with USA, Türkiye and Paraguay. Ghana are in Group L with England, Croatia and Panama.

Using that previous rate, Leicester would earn £170,751 for each of Souttar and Fatawu if they feature through the group stage. If either nation reaches the 19 July final, City’s total per player would rise to £365,895.

The new regulations also cover World Cup qualifiers. Fatawu played only four qualifiers in 2024/25 due to injury. Souttar was a regular, many caps while on loan at Sheffield United, and payments are shared with any club he represented in the two years before the tournament, so the Blades would receive a portion.

Leicester also released Jannik Vestergaard, Jordan James, Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Patson Daka and Jordan Ayew for qualifiers last season.

Source: LeicesterMercury.co.uk