2026 World Cup: Why Pirates and Sundowns will earn big if Bafana Bafana qualify

PSL clubs are in line for a cash boost if Bafana Bafana seal a ticket to the 2026 World Cup following a decision by FIFA to compensate clubs that release players for the tournament.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that it will distribute a record $355 million (R6.4 billion) to clubs worldwide as part of its expanded Club Benefits Programme (CBP) for the 2026 World Cup.

The new amount represents a nearly 70 per cent increase from the $209 million paid out following the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

For the first time, clubs will be compensated for releasing players for World Cup qualifiers, not just for the final tournament.

FIFA set to compensate more clubs next year

This initiative is part of a renewed memorandum of understanding signed between FIFA and the European Club Association (ECA) in March 2023, which aims to foster a more inclusive and equitable system for global club football.

“The enhanced edition of the FIFA Club Benefits Programme for the FIFA World Cup 2026 is going a step further by recognising financially the huge contribution that so many clubs and their players around the world make to the staging of both the qualifiers and the final tournament,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said in a statement.

The CBP was first introduced for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Following the 2022 tournament, 440 clubs from 51 different FIFA member associations received payments through the programme.

With the 2026 edition set to include compensation for qualifiers, the number of clubs benefiting from the fund is expected to rise significantly.

Why will Sundowns and Pirates earn more?

In South Africa, Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates will be the biggest beneficiaries if Bafana Bafana make it to the World Cup as coach Hugo Broos has been selecting most of his players from the two clubs.

Sundowns and Pirates each had seven players in the Bafana Bafana team at the recent international break when they played against Lesotho and Nigeria, winning 3-0 before a 1-1 draw, that left them top of their qualifying group with 17 points, three more than second-placed Benin and six ahead of third placed Nigeria.

That is not likely to change in the final qualification games against Zimbabwe and Rwanda, when four points, or three, will see South Africa back at the World Cup for the first time since hosting it.

The 2026 World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026 across the United States, Mexico, and Canada.