Arsenal could receive upwards of £5 million from FIFA as compensation for their players featuring in the World Cup finals and qualifiers leading up to the tournament.
FIFA pay clubs a day rate as compensation for players who are called up to international duty, and the governing body is now set to raise this amount by 70%.
The World Cup takes place next summer in North America, while the qualification process is yet to be completed.
Arsenal had 17 players away on international duty during the most recent break, and will likely have a similar number over the next three, which take place before the prestigious tournament commences.
Arsenal set for £5 million windfall from FIFA
There is another international break in just over three weeks’ time, before yet another takes place in November.
The fourth and final break during the domestic season for international matches is in March, when World Cup qualification still won’t be complete for some nations.
Many countries will be involved in play-off matches during the March break, meaning Arsenal could receive money from FIFA for releasing their players all the way up until the Spring.
Finance expert Adam Williams spoke to Arsenal Insider to explain the FIFA compensation situation and how the update could lead to the Gunners collecting £5 million over the next 12 months.
“At present, FIFA pays clubs what is basically a day rate as compensation for players called up to international duty,” William said.
“It’s a per-player, per-day calculation. The update here is that the total central pot is increasing in value and, for the first time, that money is going to be distributed to clubs who release players for World Cup qualifiers, not just the finals in the summer of 2026.
“In Qatar, Arsenal received about £8,000 per player, per day. A 70 per cent increase will therefore presumably lift that to around £13,500. These won’t be the exact figures as I assume there will also be some revisions in terms of exactly how the money is distributed, but we don’t know all of the detail yet.
“£13,500 doesn’t sound like a lot to a club like Arsenal, whose revenue was £614m last season, but it can make a difference over the course of an entire tournament. The 2026 World Cup is 38 days in total, so if an Arsenal player reaches the final, that’s over £500,000. The minimum length of time you can spend at the tournament meanwhile – i.e., if you get knocked out in the group stage – is just less than two weeks. So that’s almost £200,000 per player. If Arsenal have, say, 10 players at the tournament as they did in Qatar, that’s nearly £2m.
“The chances are they are going to have more in 2026 anyway, and you’d expect several of them to go deep into the tournament. I think you could be looking at £4-5m from this route from the finals alone, therefore.
“These kinds of concessions are invariably secured through the European Club Association, the lobbying group of which Arsenal are a prominent member. So, in a very real sense, the club itself will have played a role in getting this compensation.”
Which Arsenal players will be at the World Cup?
Mikel Arteta’s squad is currently stacked with international regulars, and thus, the World Cup could be very lucrative for the Gunners.
Almost their entire squad will feature in Qualifiers between now and June, although not every player will feature at the finals.
At the moment, Gabriel Magalhaes and Piero Hincapie are almost certain to travel to the United States, Mexico and Canada, with Brazil and Ecuador already qualifying for the competition.
Gabriel Martinelli may also be on the plane to North America, although this will depend on his form for the rest of the season and, subsequently, whether Carlo Ancelotti picks him.
No other nation that has already qualified contains an Arsenal player, although several of the big countries that are expected to make the cut do.
The likes of David Raya, Jurrien Timber, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Kai Havertz and Leandro Trossard will all take part, assuming they’re fit and their nations don’t unexpectedly miss out.
Meanwhile, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White will all be in contention to make Thomas Tuchel’s England squad.
Arsenal’s trio of Scandinavians, Christian Norgaard, Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Odegaard, will all be involved for their countries if they qualify.
In total, Arsenal could have as many as 20 players at the tournament, and that’s without even considering potential outsiders like Cristhian Mosquera and Ethan Nwaneri, who could make their respective squads with outstanding seasons.
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