World football governing body has included the Nigeria Premier Football League duo of Enyimba and Remo Stars in the list of beneficiaries of their financial largesse for the 2026 World Cup, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
FIFA will give out a total of $355m as payments to teams who release their players during the qualifying series for the tournament. It is called FIFA Club Benefits Programme.
According to FIFA, each club that released players during the qualifiers will receive at least $2,360 per player for each match for which the player was released. A new high which the president of the body Gianni Infantino said is due to the increase in the number of teams at the tournament.
“Through the FIFA World Cup 2026 Club Benefits Programme, and thanks to the inclusion of all qualifying matches for the first time, more clubs than ever before will receive a share of the financial benefits generated by the FIFA World Cup, recognising their essential contribution to the success of international football.
“From approximately 1,000 matches combined from qualifiers and the final tournament, this programme will deliver USD 355 million back to club football — an increase of 70 per cent compared to the last edition.
This is another benefit from the expanded FIFA World Cup, providing more support across the entire football ecosystem to the clubs that provide all the players who compete to shine on the global stage. I thank the FIFA Council and European Football Clubs for their support in making this landmark programme a reality for so many players and their clubs worldwide.”
In a release sent to all Federations made available to our editorial team FIFA said clubs will qualify for the payments provided their players were included in matchday squads, even if they did not feature in the games.
The qualifiers which lasted from November 2023 to October 2025 and had each team play ten games saw Nigerian teams Remo Stars and Enyimba benefiting from the windfall.
Remo Stars released four players: Benin Republic goalkeeper Adebiyi Obassa (eight matches), Kayode Bankole (two matches), Sodiq Ismaila (two matches) and Togolese striker Franck Mawuena (three matches). Enyimba also released goalkeeper Olorunleke Ojo for two matches.
As a result, Remo Stars are expected to receive about $35,400, which amounts to approximately N48.14m at an exchange rate of N1,360 to the dollar.
Enyimba, meanwhile, are set to receive about $4,720, equivalent to approximately N6.42m.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
