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Clubs to receive over US$200 million World Cup compensation

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Banners bearing the images of players Neymar (right) and Gaël Ondoua in Doha on Oct 11, 2022. PHOTO: AFP

Fifa will distribute US$209 million (S$300 million) to clubs that release their international players for the Qatar World Cup, the same amount as four years ago in Russia, football’s world governing body announced on Tuesday.

Each club will receive “approximately US$10,000” for each day the relevant player remains with his national team during the tournament, including the preparation period.

This compensation will be paid to “all clubs” for which the footballer has played in the two years before the World Cup.

Fifa originally set up the system ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, in agreement with the powerful European Clubs Association, whose members provide most of the participants in international competitions.

During the 2018 World Cup, 416 clubs from 63 national federations shared the same amount.

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Meanwhile, the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden will submit a joint bid to host the 2025 Women’s European Championship, they announced on Wednesday, supported by the Faroe Islands and Iceland.

“Women’s football in the Nordic countries has so much to offer,” said Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation.

“We offer to share with the rest of Europe our joint ambition to leave a long-lasting legacy of truly equal opportunities in football.”

The venues planned for the tournament are Copenhagen, Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Odense, Gothenburg, Trondheim and Tampere.

“Together we will provide a unique experience for both players and supporters,” said Swedish Football Association president Karl-Erik Nilsson.

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“All Nordic football associations agree about the importance of organising major championships in our countries, and together we have great ambitions for the development of women’s football.”

Submission of bids closed on Wednesday, with France, Poland and Switzerland also seeking to host the event. Ukraine had expressed interest before the Russian invasion. Uefa’s executive committee will decide on the winning bid on Jan 25.

England hosted and won the last edition, which was postponed from 2021 to the summer of 2022 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The women’s World Cup is scheduled to be staged in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

AFP, Reuters

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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