© EuroFootball.com
FIFA plans to significantly increase the prize fund of next year's World Cup. FIFA intends to allocate 332 million Swiss francs (about 743 million litas) for prizes.
The winner of the upcoming tournament in Germany will take home 24.5 million Swiss francs, which is more than twice as much as the 2002 World Cup winners from Brazil received. Each team that qualifies for the tournament will already have secured at least seven million Swiss francs.
The World Football Federation announced the 38 percent increase in the prize fund on Tuesday at its annual financial conference. During this conference, it was reported that the organization's assets available for sale had increased to 439 million Swiss francs, and FIFA's profit in 2004 amounted to 158 million Swiss francs, a 12 percent increase compared to 2003.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said that the achieved profit, along with marketing results, will continue to strengthen the organization's solid financial foundation.
Blatter added that the increased prize fund reflects the World Cup's essential role in the game's marketing. "We can realize our various global projects only because we organize the World Cup, because it is always an extraordinary, attractive and engaging event," he said. "The increase in the prize fund is driven by the desire to reward teams that reach the final part for their efforts. We are not a bank, and we do not seek huge profits. But we do want to have a normal margin and reserves because we do not know how long this positive situation will last."
FIFA announced the increase in possible sales of assets as a priority after the bankruptcy of the organization's marketing and broadcast rights partners ISL and Kirch in 2001 and 2002. "It was a noisy and completely unnecessary period in FIFA's history, but now we look forward with great optimism," Blatter added. "We have learned our lessons from the events of 2001 and 2002."
