No surprises as FIFA name top World Cup seeds
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-07 09:16

NO CHANGES

FIFA also ruled on Tuesday that if the draw produced any match likely to pose a security threat it would not be moved from one location to another as happened in Euro 2004 when UEFA moved two games from smaller towns to larger ones.

FIFA spokesman Markus Siegler said: "No matches will be moved from one stadium to another, the ony possible change might be in the kickoff time."

The eventual winner of the tournament will earn 24.50 million Swiss francs ($18.75 million) in prize money, with the runners-up receiving 22.5 million Swiss francs.

In another new move, FIFA announced that the World Cup trophy would be taken on a tour of 31 cities in 28 countries beginning in Accra, Ghana on January 7 and ending in Rome on April 10.

World Cup winners to scoop $18.75 million

LEIPZIG, Germany, Dec 6 (Reuters) - The winners of next year's World Cup final will scoop 24.5 million Swiss Francs ($18.75 million) as part of a total prize pool of 300 million Swiss Francs ($229.5 million) for the tournament.

FIFA announced on Tuesday that the 32 teams taking part will be guaranteed at least six million Swiss Francs ($4.59 million) each in prize money.

The eight teams beaten in the second round will get 8.5 million Swiss Francs ($6.5 million) and the four defeated quarter-finalists will get 11.5 million Swiss Francs.
The two beaten semi-finalists will each get 21.5 million Swiss Francs ($16.45 million), with no cash incentive for winning the third-place match.

The beaten finalists on July 9 in Berlin will be almost as richly rewarded as the winners with 22.5 million Swiss Francs on offer.

FIFA is also offering generous expenses to the teams appearing at the finals, which begin on June 9.

Each qualifying national association will receive one million Swiss Francs ($765,100) before the tournament to cover preparation costs.