A soccer competition is called the World Cup. Every four years, it takes place. Teams from various nations compete in it. It is adored by the viewers and fans. The participating teams receive compensation. The amount depends on how well they perform. But how much money was awarded to the first World Cup champion? And how has the money changed over the years? In this article, we will discuss how much money did the first world cup winner get.
The First World Cup in 1930
Uruguay hosted the inaugural World Cup in 1930. Thirteen teams competed in this tournament. Uruguay won it. In the championship game, they defeated Argentina 4-2 to achieve this. FIFA donated $100,000 for the entire competition. Out of this amount, Uruguay got $30,000 for winning it. Argentina received $15,000 as the second-place prize. The United States and Yugoslavia also received $10,000 each for finishing third and fourth, respectively. However, the other nine teams got nothing.
The Change of Money Over Time
The cost of the World Cup has increased significantly since then. The competition and the sport have expanded and gained popularity. The World Cup now features more teams and stages thanks to FIFA. The World Cup now features more teams and stages thanks to FIFA. Teams have more opportunities to win money thanks to this. FIFA announces the amount of funding they will provide before each competition. They give the money after they know the final ranking.
The table below shows how the total money and the winners’ money have changed for each World Cup from 1930 to 2022:
| Year | Host | Total Money | Winners’ Money |
| 1930 | Uruguay | $100,000 | $30,000 |
| 1934 | Italy | $300,000 | $50,000 |
| 1938 | France | $500,000 | $75,000 |
| 1950 | Brazil | $600,000 | $100,000 |
| 1954 | Switzerland | $700,000 | $150,000 |
| 1958 | Sweden | $800,000 | $200,000 |
| 1962 | Chile | $900,000 | $250,000 |
| 1966 | England | $1.4 million | $400,000 |
| 1970 | Mexico | $1.6 million | $500,000 |
| 1974 | West Germany | $3 million | $1 million |
| 1978 | Argentina | $5 million | $1.5 million |
| 1982 | Spain | $20 million | $2.2 million |
| 1986 | Mexico | $30 million | $3 million |
| 1990 | Italy | $40 million | $3.5 million |
| 1994 | United States | $60 million | $10 million |
| 1998 | France | $128 million* ($576 million**) *FIFA changed its accounting method from gross to net **The gross equivalent of net prize money pool for comparison purposes only. Source: FIFA Financial Report 2014. | $35 million |
| 2018 | Russia | $400 million | $38 million |
| 2022 | Qatar | $440 million | $42 million |
You can see from the table that the money for the World Cup has gone up a lot over time, especially since 1982 when FIFA started to tell how much money each team would get. The winners’ money has also gone up a lot, reaching a record high of $42 million for the winners of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. That is $4 million more than 2018, and it has gone up in every tournament since 1974.
What Does It Mean?
The World Cup’s financial success demonstrates how significant and well-liked the event and the sport are. The amount of revenue FIFA receives from various sources is also displayed. As a result, the winners receive a sizeable portion of the prize money, which is very large. Uruguay received $30,000 as the first World Cup champion in 1930, which is equivalent to $480,000 today. The most recent World Cup champion, Argentina, received $42 million in 2022, which equates to roughly $2.7 billion in 1930. Therefore, that is a huge difference of more than 5,600 times!