FIFA Club World Cup risks deepening inequality in Latin American football

Playing in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup offers a juicy financial reward, but the generous prizes up for grabs risk deepening the inequalities already entrenched in Latin American football, where the gap between big and small is often insurmountable.

FIFA boasts that the unprecedented super tournament – which kicks off Saturday in the United States with 32 teams from around the globe – will hand out “record cash prizes”: the post totals US$1 billion.

The winner will take home up to US$125 million – equivalent to 38 percent of the squad value of Flamengo from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, the most “expensive” team in Latin America according to specialist site Transfermarkt.

No-one, of course, is seriously betting that the top prize will slip out of European hands – especially given that clubs like PSG and Manchester City are bankrolled by wealthy Gulf states.

But simply taking part (worth US$15.2 million) guarantees South American squads a payout just below the total value of the entire Atlético Nacional roster – Colombia’s most decorated team and hailing from the region’s fourth-largest economy.

For the North American sides – Mexico’s Pachuca, Monterrey and Cruz Azul and US clubs Inter Miami, Seattle Sounders and LAFC – the participation fee is set at US$9.5 million.

That amount is slightly lower than the transfer value of the most valuable player in Mexico’s league, winger Alexis Vega of Toluca, according to Transfermarkt.

Participating clubs can increase their earnings through results – US$2 million for a win, US$1 million for a draw in the group stage – and by progressing through the rounds: US$7.5 million for reaching the last 16, US$13.125 million for the quarter-finals and US$21 million for the semis, according to FIFA.

The tournament “continues to widen an existing inequality gap, which keeps growing deeper,” said Christian Solano, author of El negocio del fútbol, in an interview.

In South America, he notes, the participants will be the region’s traditionally wealthiest clubs – among them Argentina’s River Plate and Boca Juniors, and Brazil’s Flamengo and Palmeiras.

Those two countries already dominate regional competitions, Solano argues, meaning the imbalance is only likely to grow as they receive more revenue while rivals operate with much smaller budgets.

“These are significant funds and an additional resource for a special year, which requires that these funds be invested in competing,” River Plate Club President Jorge Brito told La Página Millonaria back in February.

According to local press, the Millonarios lived up to their nickname this year and have spent over US$50 million to repatriate Argentina World Cup champions like Gonzalo Montiel and Germán Pezzella, among a host of other signings.

Earnings from the tournament can also be put toward infrastructure – including youth academies, which can generate millions if a prized new talent emerges.

“As financial support, it’s clearly very important, both on the footballing side and for a club’s overall economy,” said former French international footballer David Trezeguet.

A strong performance or savvy transfer market move can bring not only major income, but also boost a club’s international brand – opening up new markets in Africa or Asia.

“If there’s an opportunity to sign a player who can raise our brand exposure, of course we’ll try to do it,” said Fluminense Club President Mário Bittencourt to O Globo in an interview.

But the wave of millions now swirling through top Argentine clubs and Brazilian football in general could prove a poisoned apple.

Several Brazilian football authorities, including coaches and club presidents, have called for financial fair play rules and raised concerns over soaring salaries and transfer fees.

Solano warns of a “football bubble” that could burst at any moment due to the constant price hikes and the risk that clubs won’t be able to keep up.

“The overload of competitions ... is going to make all this – the million-dollar football transactions – unsustainable,” he says. “Now there’s a Club World Cup, a Nations League... will sponsors really have the pockets to keep up with this pace?”