Orlando Pirates could be in for a nice payday from FIFA, should Richard Ofori be named in the official Ghana squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The 28-year-old shot stopper is expected to make the Black Stars’ final squad for the tournament in Qatar, which would mean the Buccaneers would received around $10,000 (R183,000) per day Ofori spends at the World Cup.
FIFA released a statement this week, saying that each club will earn “approximately USD 10,000 to be received for each one of the days the relevant player remains with his national team during the FIFA World Cup 2022” as part of the Club Benefits Programme, meaning, if Ofori makes the Ghana squad Pirates will be compensated.
FIFA has given countries a preparation period of one week and even if Ghana would exit after the group stages, Pirates would earn $10,000 per day between 13 November and 2 December, totalling 19 days.
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Those 19 days equal to $190,000 or R3.5 million and should be the minimum the Buccaneers can expect, with the amount rising the further Ghana would go at the tournament.
The Black Stars in Group H alongside Portugal, Uruguay and South Korea. Ofori has represented Ghana 25 times and started their last friendly match – a 1-0 win over Nicaragua.
As things stand, Ofori seems to be the only Premier Soccer League to take part in the 2022 World Cup.
Full FIFA statement on the Club Benefits Programme:
“As part of its commitment to recognise the contribution that football clubs make to the successful staging of the FIFA World Cup™, today FIFA started the application process for its Club Benefits Programme that will see USD 209 million (R3.8 billion) distributed to clubs across the world,” FIFA stated on it’s website.
“This initiative already saw 416 clubs from 63 member associations benefiting from the same amount following the 2018 FIFA World Cup ™.
“For the first time, clubs will be able to apply digitally through the FIFA Professional Football Landscape platform with approximately USD 10,000 to be received for each one of the days the relevant player remains with his national team during the FIFA World Cup 2022™ and the official preparation period. The compensation will be paid to all clubs for which the footballer has played in the two years prior to the FIFA World Cup 2022.
“The Club Benefits Programme is part of a broader collaboration agreement between FIFA and the European Club Association, which was first launched ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ and further extended in 2015 to cover both the 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups™.”
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