Africa: FIFA to Pay First Women's Champions Cup Winner Record $2.3m

25 January 2026

FIFA will pay $2.3 million in prize money to the club that wins the first Women's Champions Cup at Arsenal's stadium next week, with the governing body hailing it as the highest single payout ever awarded in women's club soccer.

The total fund detailed on Friday by FIFA will share $3.9 million among the six continental champions. The final stages in London are a warmup for a planned full Women's Club World Cup in 2028.

European champions Arsenal will play ASFAR of Morocco after Gotham FC from the United States plays Corinthians of Brazil in back-to-back semifinals on Wednesday at the home of Premier League club Brentford.

The final at Arsenal's stadium on Feb. 1 will follow a third-place game at the same venue.

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The champion gets $2.3 million and the beaten finalist $1 million, with $200,000 paid to each of the losing semifinalists.

Two continental champions already eliminated in earlier rounds -- Auckland United from Oceania and Wuhan Chegu Jiangda representing Asia -- each get $100,000.

The prize money is "a clear statement of the belief in women's club football and the players, teams and competitions driving its continued rise," FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström said in a statement.

Arsenal got more than €1.5 million ($1.8 million) in prize money for winning the UEFA Women's Champions League last season.

FIFA paid $1 billion among 32 teams in the men's 2025 Club World Cup, with the two finalists -- Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain -- both earning in excess of $100 million.

That tournament in the United States was backed by Saudi Arabian money to ensure influential European clubs got the prize money they sought to agree to take part.

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