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FC Salzburg: New windfall or just an empty promise?
FC Red Bull Salzburg will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. Find out more about the entry fees and the challenges.
FC Salzburg: New windfall or just an empty promise?
FC Red Bull Salzburg is celebrating a premiere: the Austrian football club will take part in the FIFA Club World Cup for the first time. The anticipation was high, especially due to the high financial incentives associated with this event. Stephan Reiter, Salzburg's managing director, raved even before the qualification: "I almost get goosebumps when I think about it." However, sobering news recently came: Contrary to original expectations, which reported a signing fee of up to 50 million euros, Salzburg is only expected to receive 10 million euros. This information comes from the “Salzburger Nachrichten”, which also indicates that larger clubs such as Real Madrid or Bayern Munich will have achieved significantly higher sums.
The unequal distribution of funds
The injustice lies in the calculation of the entry fee, which is determined according to the UEFA club coefficient. Salzburg only ranks 42nd on this list, which explains the low total. While the big names in football are benefiting greatly from the financial advantages of the new Club World Cup, the smaller clubs, such as FC Salzburg, are falling far short of expectations. Just a quarter of the amount reported by the media is provided for the “bulls”, which raises questions about the fairness of the distribution.
Salzburg is also about to find out its fate in the new Club World Cup, which will be held in the USA in 2025. This expansion of the competition with 32 starters underlines the commercial ambitions of the world football association FIFA. Under President Gianni Infantino, the format is regularly expanded, whether it is a World Cup with 48 teams or the upcoming Club World Cup. There are already discussions about whether this growth path is sustainable or just a short-term advantage in the form of monetary income, as shown by the discussion about the 'Infantino Games', which many Bundesliga clubs have to point out.
However, FIFA is involved in discussions with the European Football Clubs' Interest Group (ECA), so the final distribution of entry and prize money is still unclear, while major changes are unlikely, as "Die Presse" reports.