Anger in the European Union Before the 2026 World Cup Due to Potential Financial Losses

Several European football associations have expressed serious concerns that their participation in the 2026 World Cup could lead to financial losses, despite the allocation of a record amount of tournament prizes by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA).

According to a report by the English newspaper The Guardian, the federations believe that rising costs and exchange rate fluctuations may render the funds teams receive insufficient to cover operational expenses, taxes, and other anticipated costs.

The federations particularly criticize the reduction in the daily accommodation allowance compared to what it was in the 2022 edition in Qatar. Additionally, taxes in the United States remain unclear or non-uniform, which could impose different financial burdens on each team depending on the state in which they play. In contrast, Canada and Mexico have secured tax exemptions for the participating teams, while this remains a subject of dispute with the U.S. authorities.

The high costs are not limited to taxes but also include the expenses of long-distance travel between American cities and other states, in addition to high operating and ticket costs, which impact the budgets of federations that typically reinvest any profits into local soccer development programs.

Despite these concerns, some officials hope that the emergence of the tournament in the North American arena will lead to long-term commercial gains, especially in the large soccer market there. However, FIFA has not yet officially commented on these reservations.