German official says World Cup will be a financial challenge for FAs

The World Cup in summer will be a huge financial challenge in many aspects for Germany and other countries, German Football Federation (DFB) managing director for sport Andreas Rettig has said.

The ruling body FIFA has announced record payments of $655 million for the 48 participating teams June 11-July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Each team gets 1.5 million for preparations, teams that miss the round 32 $got 9 million each while the champion receives $50 million.

Rettig told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger paper that "without sporting success it quickly becomes a money-losing venture for many federations.

“Prize money in dollars and the associated exchange rate risks, long distances and a lengthy tournament make it a challenging undertaking, as do the tax implications," he said.

But Rettig did not want to voice general criticism on the tournament, saying that in his position he must act responsible and achieve the best for various groups.

“As managing director for sport I also have a different area of expertise and a different remit than that of conducting public political analysis,” he said.

Rettig had voiced criticism on 2022 hosts Qatar owing to its human rights record but that was before his current position in the DFB.

He said he is looking forward to this year's tournament but that the geopolitical situation is also putting a damper on it and "we feel like in a modus of constant stress."

Rettig also said he can not see German national teams playing against Russia before an end of the Ukraine war. FIFA president Gianni Infantino had recently suggested a lifting of sanctions against Russia.

Rettig said he “could not imagine playing against Russian teams on a voluntary basis – not even at youth level. I cannot understand why Russian or Belarusian teams would take part in international competitions flying their national flags.”