UEFA unveils €244 million compensation package for international call-ups

UEFA has further strengthened its alliance with Europe’s leading clubs after unveiling a record €244 million compensation package for teams releasing players for international duty during the cycle leading up to EURO 2028. 

The scheme, agreed in tandem with the European Foootball Club organisation, will see clubs paid substantially more than they currently receive under FIFA’s equivalent World Cup programme, with UEFA keen to keep Europe’s powerful club game onside amid an increasingly crowded international calendar. 

The €244 million fund represents a pile-on increase on previous cycles and will be split across UEFA’s national team competitions. Of that fund, a total of €104 million has been earmarked for player releases during UEFA Nations League fixtures and EURO 2028 qualifiers, with clubs expected to receive around €3,845 per player per day during official international windows. 

The remaining €140 million will be distributed to clubs whose players feature at EURO 2028 itself, which will be staged across the UK and Ireland. 

Under UEFA’s compensation model, payments are weighted according to a club’s status within the governing body’s tiered classification system: elite clubs are expected to receive around €10,200 per player per day during the tournament, with second-tier clubs earning roughly €6,800 and third-tier clubs around half of that. 

The figures comfortably surpass those available through FIFA’s Club Benefits Programme for the 2026 World Cup. While FIFA will distribute a larger overall pot of €305 million across the tournament, payments are made at a flat rate of roughly €4,200 per player per day, meaning Europe’s biggest clubs stand to earn more than double that amount from UEFA when releasing players for EURO 2028. 

The announcement is another indication of how dramatically the relationship between clubs and national teams has evolved over the past two decades. Still somewhat viewed as a source of friction, player release now comes with financial incentive to soften the risks associated with international football, particularly given the financial consequences of injuries to high-value assets. 

The issue has become even more sensitive as fixture congestion ramps up. FIFA’s expanded 48-team World Cup, the enlarged UEFA Champions League calendar and the growing number of international matches has pushed player welfare back to the top of the discussion. 

The maths checks out for some substantial financial rewards for Europe’s elite. The likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan regularly provide double-digit numbers of internationals to major tournaments and could receive multi-million euro payouts over the course of the cycle. 

The announcement also represents another victory for EFC, whose influence over football’s governance has grown considerably since its rapprochement with UEFA following the collapse of the European Super League project in 2021.  

UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has repeatedly prioritised cooperation with clubs, and the latest compensation package reflects the extent to which that partnership now shapes the economics of the international game.