Does Iran Fight for the World Cup or for Tens of Millions of Dollars?

June 5, 2026

7 min read

In these days when the Islamic Republic's football federation is in intensive consultations with FIFA and the US embassy to obtain visas for players, managers, and the national team's entourage, the question is being raised more than ever: what exactly is the Islamic Republic fighting for?

"Mohammad Dadkan" says that the football federation's entire effort is to get the World Cup's dollar prize money and divide it among the managers; not national interests or footballing success.

But what are these multi-million dollar revenues from the World Cup? First, we must know that FIFA pays at least 12.5 million dollars directly to every team qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, even without earning a single point.

Interestingly, if the Iranian football team is eliminated in the group stage, its total revenue from FIFA will reach around 21.5 million dollars.

Progressing from the group stage adds at least another 11 million dollars to the federation's revenue. Another victory in the knockout stage can generate an additional 15 million dollars for Iranian football.

For Iranian football, which has faced sanctions, money transfer crises, debts, and especially "systematic managerial corruption" for years, World Cup revenue can be considered a major source of foreign currency and even an opportunity for the personal income of managers.

Furthermore, for the Islamic Republic, the World Cup is not just about football; it is a project for state propaganda, political prestige, and, of course, a multi-million dollar revenue on American soil.

Mohammad Dadkan, the former president of the Football Federation of Iran, said something in an interview with the Rouydad24 website that perhaps explains the current state of the Islamic Republic's national team better than any other football analysis: "The federation's entire effort is to get the qualification prize money and divide it among themselves; nobody's heart bleeds for the homeland."

These days, when the Islamic Republic's football federation is in intensive consultations with FIFA and the US embassy to obtain visas for players, managers, and the national team's entourage, the question is being raised more than ever: What exactly is the Islamic Republic fighting for?

For national prestige? For footballing success? Or for executing a propaganda project on American soil? Or for the tens of millions of dollars in revenue that FIFA pays to teams participating in the World Cup?

In past years, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly tried to turn the football team's presence in international events such as the World Cup or the AFC Asian Cup into a propaganda tool, from dispatching state-sponsored spectators to fill the stands to the political exploitation of sporting successes in official media.

The World Cup, however, is not just a propaganda opportunity for the Iranian government. These tournaments have become one of the largest sources of foreign currency revenue for Iran's politicized and sanctioned football in recent years.

How Much Money Does FIFA Pay?

The 2026 World Cup will be the largest and most lucrative World Cup in football history, a tournament with 48 teams, three host countries, and a historic revenue record for FIFA. It should be kept in mind that although the World Cup has been economically loss-making for the hosts in all past editions, it has turned FIFA into one of the most powerful economic institutions in the world.

The International Federation of Association Football announced in April 2026 that it had increased the total financial rewards for these matches to 896 million dollars, an unprecedented figure, a large portion of which will be distributed directly among the teams participating in the tournament.

According to FIFA's official announcement, every team that has qualified for the 2026 World Cup benefits from two guaranteed payments before the start of the tournament: 10 million dollars as a qualification reward and 2.5 million dollars as a preparation allowance.

This means that even the weakest team present in the World Cup, without earning even a single point, will receive a guaranteed 12.5 million dollars from FIFA.

But the story does not end with this figure.

FIFA has defined separate rewards for each stage of progression in the 2026 World Cup.

Teams that finish in 33rd to 48th place will receive another 9 million dollars. Teams ranked 17th to 32nd will get 11 million dollars in performance rewards, and teams ranked 9th to 16th will receive another 15 million dollars.

This process continues until the final, where the champion team will receive 50 million dollars as a final reward.

In this way, a team eliminated in the group stage receives a total of 21.5 million dollars from FIFA, and the champion team can earn more than 62 million dollars.

The important point here is that, contrary to common perception, this money is not directly linked to television broadcasting rights or pitchside advertising. Revenue from the sale of broadcasting rights and official World Cup advertisements belongs directly to FIFA and is later distributed among teams in the form of rewards and financial assistance.

FIFA also does not pay a separate reward for each win or draw, as it did in past editions. Teams' revenue increases based on the stage at which they are eliminated or to which they progress, as well as the rank they achieve.

For a federation that has faced financial crisis, debt, sanctions, and money transfer problems for years, such figures are not just a football reward; they are a major source of foreign currency revenue.

Why This Money Is Vital for the Islamic Republic

Iranian football has repeatedly faced financial difficulties in recent years, concurrent with the intensification of sanctions and the economic crisis.

At various points, FIFA has encountered difficulties transferring money to the Football Federation of Iran due to banking sanctions and financial restrictions, and some payments have even been delayed or routed through intermediary countries.

Within Iran, professional football is also facing a debt crisis, financial cases, ambiguous contracts, managerial corruption, and extensive reliance on state and quasi-state budgets.

Under such circumstances, multi-million-dollar World Cup revenue is not just a sporting reward; it is wealth that can feed part of the federation's financial crisis and, of course, the extensive network of managers whose financial corruption cases are closed half-finished.

The experience of previous World Cups has shown that not even a single rial of this foreign currency revenue is spent on player bonuses. From foreign currency rewards to car import permits, gold coins, and special privileges, payments to players have always been made by state and government institutions. Unlike in other countries, where players receive a share of FIFA rewards, the bonuses for Iranian players have been paid from state resources, not from World Cup revenues.

For this reason, when Mohammad Dadkan says, "The federation's entire effort is to get the qualification prize money and divide it among themselves," his words are not merely a personal criticism of a president or federation managers. Rather, they are a direct reference to the economic structure of the Football Federation of Iran.

Even Elimination Is Profitable

The difference between the 2026 World Cup and previous tournaments in Qatar and Russia is that even defeat in these matches can be profitable.

The Iranian national team has been placed in a group that many experts describe as "the simplest group of the competition," featuring New Zealand, an inexperienced team across international competitions, and Egypt, which has distanced itself from its peak years in recent times.

Under such conditions, Iran's progression from the group stage is not only within expectations, but also appears highly natural. Two teams from each group qualify definitively for the next stage, and the eight best third-placed teams across the 12 groups will also advance to the next round. In other words, the number of teams progressing is greater than the number of teams eliminated from the group stage.

If the Iranian national team is eliminated in the group stage itself, its total revenue from FIFA will reach at least around 21.5 million dollars.

However, advancing to subsequent stages increases revenue significantly. Progressing just one stage further can add millions more dollars to the football federation's revenue. That is to say, if it reaches the knockout stage, it will receive at least another 11 million dollars, and if it advances to a higher stage by winning the first match, it will receive at least another 15 million dollars.

Perhaps because of this, the 2026 World Cup is not just a sporting project; it is a major economic project that even an early elimination cannot turn into a financial failure.

What Is the Difference Between the Islamic Republic and Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Haiti?

Almost all teams present at the World Cup will receive their rewards from FIFA, from Saudi Arabia and Iraq to Haiti.

However, the important difference between the Islamic Republic and many of these countries lies in the process of receiving and transferring these funds.

Saudi Arabia, as one of the close allies of the United States, has no issue transferring its football revenues. Iraq, despite complex relations with Washington, still utilizes official international banking and financial channels, and Haiti, despite its political and economic crisis, is not under extensive banking sanctions similar to those facing the Islamic Republic.

Conversely, the Islamic Republic has faced a crisis for years regarding the transfer of football funds, the receipt of foreign dues, and even the payment of wages to foreign coaches.

This federation must find ways to access this budget through methods such as having FIFA pay off fines owed to suing players, billing the world governing body for coaches' wages, and defining building projects and infrastructural construction for FIFA, similar to what it has done in past years.