The inaugural FIFA Women’s Champions Cup is potentially reshaping the financial landscape of women’s club football, with FIFA is throwing down the gauntlet to UEFA and the other confederations with ambitions to develop their club games by offering the biggest prize money in the women’s international club game to date.
The club that lifts the first-ever FIFA Women’s Champions Cup Trophy in 2026 will earn $2.3 million. In comparison Arsenal Women earned about $1.8 million in prize money for winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League last season.
The Champions Cup runners-up will receive $1 million, the two semi-finalists will each collect $200,000, while teams eliminated in Round 1 and Round 2 – OFC representatives Auckland United FC of New Zealand and AFC representatives Wuhan Chegu Jiangda WFC of China PR – will receive $100,000 apiece.
“A total payout of close to $4 million distributed among the six participants based on their performance is a clear statement of the belief in women’s club football and the players, teams, and competitions driving its continued rise,” said FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström.
As global interest, broadcast audiences, and commercial investment in the women’s game continue to grow, FIFA is seeking to ensure that financial rewards keep pace. Increased prize money is designed to strengthen club balance sheets, support player development and encourage long-term investment at domestic and continental levels.
Even so, the prize money for the winner of the women’s competition doesn’t come close to the $100 million+ FIFA paid out to Chelsea for its summer 2025 Club World Cup win for what was effectively a pre-season tournament. It is also short of the $5 million paid to PSG for their one-match 2025 FIFA Intercontinental Cup win against Flamengo last December.
On the women’s prize money, Grafström said “it reflects the global growth of the women’s game and FIFA’s commitment to making targeted, meaningful investments that strengthen women’s club football for the long term.
“Our focus is clear: to continue investing in, growing and elevating women’s club football at every level – ensuring that opportunity, visibility and value keep pace with the exceptional performances seen on the pitch.”
That approach will be further expanded through reforms to the Women’s International Match Calendar and the introduction of new elite competitions, including the FIFA Women’s Club World Cup, scheduled to debut in 2028, which aims to rival, if not better, the UEFA’s Women’s Champions League, long considered the ultimate crown in women’s club soccer.
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