"Some associations say they will not make a profit until they reach a possible semi-final. We expect FIFA to announce increased payments this week," said Norwegian Football Association chairman Lise Klaveness at a press conference.
FIFA decided in December to allocate a record 6.7 billion kronor ($727 million) in prize money for the participating teams in the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It is also the first time the World Cup will be played with 48 national teams, compared with 32 in recent editions.
Unclear tax rules
Sweden is guaranteed around 100 million kronor for participation, but the prize pool is now expected to increase. A decision on this will be made at the FIFA board meeting on Tuesday in Vancouver ahead of Thursday's congress, The Guardian and Reuters report, among others.
According to NTB, this is because several European associations have joined forces to demand action from FIFA. The Norwegian Football Association told TV2 that unclear tax rules in the US and high on-site costs have been a concern.
"Some countries will see blood-red numbers. It will be completely different from before," says Norway's Secretary-General Karl-Petter Løken.
The Swedish Football Association has also raised similar issues.
"We know that there are tax effects that have not been investigated. So the economic profit is much more difficult to predict this time than previous championships," said Secretary General Niclas Carlnén to TT, among others, ahead of Sweden's successful World Cup playoff against Ukraine and Poland.
Could be different
The Guardian reported in early April that FIFA had failed to reach a settlement with the US over the tax issue. FIFA is a non-profit organisation and therefore does not have to pay tax, but this does not apply to the participating national associations. In addition, the tax burden may depend on the state in which the teams play their matches.
Sweden will play their World Cup opener against Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico, on June 15. After that, two matches await in Texas - against the Netherlands in Houston on June 20 and against Japan in Dallas on June 25. The national team is based in Dallas.
