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U.S. cities demand millions from FIFA over alleged broken promises for World Cup hosting

From Al-Masry Al-Youm · () Arabic

Translated from Arabic, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • U.S. cities that hosted matches for the 2026 World Cup are demanding millions of dollars from FIFA.
  • The cities claim FIFA promised $1 million to each host city before the tournament.
  • FIFA has not publicly commented on the alleged payments, while the organization reportedly earned $15 billion from the 2026 World Cup.

Several U.S. cities that hosted matches during the 2026 World Cup are reportedly demanding millions of dollars from FIFA, alleging the organization reneged on a promise of payment.

According to reports, FIFA President Gianni Infantino had pledged $1 million to each city hosting the Club World Cup in 2025. Prior to the 2026 World Cup, cities inquired about receiving a similar payment for hosting matches, and were reportedly told this would be the case. However, these payments have not materialized, prompting the cities to pursue FIFA for the funds they believe are owed.

Four executives from U.S. host city committees confirmed to The Athletic that FIFA's administration had consistently assured them of the $1 million contributions. Despite these assurances, FIFA has not issued any public statements regarding these alleged payments to host cities.

The 12 U.S. cities that hosted matches were Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle. The report comes as Infantino faces criticism over a leaked plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, a proposal that was reportedly rejected, leading FIFA to withdraw it.

The FIFA administration was consistently assuring the arrival of the million-dollar contributions.

— Host City Committee ExecutivesConfirming FIFA's assurances regarding promised payments to U.S. host cities.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Al-Masry Al-Youm in Arabic. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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