The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) announced, on Wednesday, an increase in the total value of prize money for the teams participating in the 2026 World Cup by 15 percent, to reach $871 million, coinciding with the adoption of new amendments to the laws of the game. This came in an official statement issued by the federation following its council meeting in the Canadian city of Vancouver, 44 days before the start of the first edition in the history of the tournament, which witnesses the participation of 48 teams and is hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Federation said: “Given the amazing financial success achieved by this pioneering tournament, the FIFA Council agreed to increase the value of the resources distributed to the 48 participating teams by 15 percent, to reach 871 million US dollars.” He explained that the preparation grant for each team increased by one million dollars to reach 2.5 million dollars, while the qualification bonus increased from 9 to 10 million dollars for each participating national federation. In addition, additional contributions to the teams were increased to cover the expenses of the teams' missions and to increase the number of tickets for each team, bringing the total value to more than $16 million. The International Federation stressed that the process of distributing revenues to the football community will continue to benefit all 211 national federations that are members of FIFA. In this context, the Federation’s President, Gianni Infantino, said, “FIFA feels proud that it is now in the best financial condition, and this allows it to help member national federations more than ever before.” This comes at a time when the International Federation has approved new amendments to the tournament regulations, the most important of which is canceling the individual yellow cards recorded in the finals after the group stage, and canceling them again, after the quarter-final stage. FIFA also adopted a new amendment that gave the referee the authority to announce the red card to players or members of the technical staff who leave the field in protest against the referee’s decision, and also to announce the red card to any player who covers his mouth when speaking with the opponent during arguments. The United States, Canada and Mexico will host the 2026 World Cup finals, with the participation of 48 teams, for the first time in the history of the tournament, during the period from June 11 to July 19.