FIFA gave details Friday on how it will allocate the clubs’ share of revenue for those whose players are among the 1,248 picked for the 48-team tournament in North America and — for the first time — also those called up for the 905 qualifying games.
Soccer's ruling body said players involved in the qualifying program earned $2,360 per game for the clubs they were registered with during that period.
Thousands of clubs worldwide should get some money because 209 national teams played games. Only Eritrea and Russia, which is suspended from international competitions, did not take part.
Manchester City’s 19 players picked for this World Cup is the most provided by any club. It also got the biggest share from the FIFA payment program at the 2022 edition in Qatar and for the Russia finals four years earlier.
City’s previous payments were $4.6 million and $5 million from a fund that was $209 million for each tournament.
The FIFA fund for clubs was agreed in 2023 to be $355 million for this tournament. It sets $250 million aside to reward clubs for their World Cup players, and $100 million for clubs who sent players to qualifying games.
FIFA said the other $5 million will cover administrative costs.
Other clubs set for multi-million dollar payments from FIFA include Bayern Munich with 18 players selected, and Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal each with 16. Outside of Europe, Saudi Arabian club Al-Hilal is the best represented with 12 players.
Crystal Palace has outscored Liverpool and Real Madrid. The new Europa Conference League champion has 12 players involved in this World Cup while Liverpool has 11 and Madrid 10.
FIFA payments to clubs from World Cup revenues started at the 2010 edition as part of negotiations to create and recognize the influential European Club Association two years earlier. The fund was $40 million in 2010 in South Africa and $70 million from the 2014 tournament in Brazil.
AP World Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
Arsenal's Bukayo Saka is fouled by PSG's Nuno Mendes during the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal in Budapest, Hungary, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
The FIFA World Cup soccer trophy is displayed during the opening ceremony of the International Broadcast Center, Monday, June 1, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Manchester City's Erling Haaland, right, celebrates with teammates on an open top bus during a parade to celebrate the achievements of the Manchester City men's and women's teams this season in Manchester, Monday, May 25, 2026.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A former senior CIA official accused of stealing over $40 million worth of gold bars from the federal government and storing them in the basement of his Virginia home was ordered to remain jailed until his trial after a hearing Friday where a defense attorney accused prosecutors of smearing the official with “sensational,” irrelevant allegations.
The defendant, David J. Rush, has both the means and motive to flee while the case against him is pending, U.S. Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick ruled, citing Rush's professional experience.
“He's in a different position than most people to flee and avoid detection by law enforcement,” Fitzpatrick said.
Rush is charged with fraudulently claiming tens of thousands of dollars in compensation for military leave after he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in 2015. He was arrested last month after investigators searched his home and seized more than 300 gold bars, roughly $2 million in U.S. currency and about 35 luxury watches, according to an FBI agent's affidavit.
Rush's attorney, Jessica Carmichael, noted that Rush isn't charged with any crimes related to the discovery of the gold bars, which she referred to as “basically a non-issue” and “nothing more than a sensational tidbit.” She said Rush properly obtained the gold bars and kept them locked in a safe in his basement.
“Mr. Rush never claimed they were his,” she said.
Between last November and March, Rush requested and received a “significant quantity" of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for "work-related expenses,” according to the FBI affidavit. Justice Department prosecutor Gavin Tisdale said Rush wasn't supposed to have the gold bars at his home.
“That's the issue — his skirting of rules and regulations,” he said.
Tisdale briefly summarized the case against Rush in open court after a portion of the hearing was sealed from the public. The evidence against Rush “grows stronger by the day,” Tisdale told the magistrate.
“Mr. Rush simply cannot be trusted to abide by this court's conditions,” he said.
Rush enlisted in the Navy in 1997 and was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy Reserves as a lieutenant in 2015, according to the affidavit.
Authorities claim Rush lied about his education and military background on job applications, falsely claiming to be a former Navy pilot who graduated with a bachelor's degree from Clemson University in South Carolina and a master's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York.
Investigators determined that he didn't serve as a Navy pilot and didn't attend either school.
FILE - The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency is displayed at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va., April 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)
