In the midst of the soccer action, South Korea came back to win in extra time, knocking out Uruguay and advancing to the round of 16 with their heads held high. The tears of the Uruguayan players contrasted sharply with the joy of the South Korean players, while the Chinese soccer world was eagerly awaiting an epic victory by their East Asian neighbors and enjoying the "red packet rain" that would fall from the sky. South Korea's path to promotion has undoubtedly brought huge benefits to Shandong Luneng and Beijing Guoan, and FIFA's dividend program is like a feast for the rich, as clubs that support the World Cup and FIFA are eligible to share in the lucrative revenues. The program stipulates that FIFA will pay compensation to the clubs of the World Cup players to show recognition of their support.
Let's take a closer look at FIFA's dividend distribution scheme. There are usually 26 players per team in a 32-team roster. Dividend payments begin seven days before the match and continue until the day after the team withdraws. Dividends amount to about $10,000 per person per day. In the case of a championship team, their dividend length is 37 days, including a preparation period of 7 days before the game, 29 days on game day, and a final withdrawal day. The total amount of dividends for the champion players is about $370,000 dollars. In addition, FIFA has specifically stipulated that the clubs entitled to the dividend include all players from clubs that signed up within the two years prior to the World Cup. Let's focus on the Chinese Super League. South Korea's victory made Shandong Luneng the biggest winners. Since Son Junho's transfer from Jeonbuk Hyundai to Shandong Luneng in January 2021, all of his World Cup dividends will go to Luneng. Considering the low probability of South Korea's win against Brazil on December 5, Son Junho's bonus day should be 7+1724 days, and Shandong Luneng will benefit about $240,000 from his share of the dividend.
Likewise, Beijing Guoan benefited from the win. Kim Min-Jaek's transfer has earned Guoan a lot of money, and he will also get a share of the World Cup compensation. Kim Min-Jaek joined Guoan in January 2019 before moving to Fenerbahce in Turkey and then to Napoli in Serie A. He was contractually linked to three clubs during the two-year window leading up to the World Cup, sharing $240,000 in earnings based on a time percentage. Based on the time percentage from the last World Cup, the potential compensation for Guoan should be around $80,000 dollars. The same "red envelope rain" has also been showered on other Chinese Super League clubs. The victory of Cameroonian player Bassogo will bring about 210,000 U.S. dollars in compensation for the Chinese Super League, while Shanghai Shenhua will receive about 180,000 to 190,000 U.S. dollars, and Henan will receive 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. dollars in compensation.
The two center backs from Australia and Iran will also bring in compensation income for the Chinese Super League clubs. Mooi and Praliganji, whose transfer experience is similar to that of Kim Min-Ja, will also bring in lucrative revenues for Shanghai and Shenzhen. Despite the fact that Chinese soccer did not perform as well in this World Cup as it did in the previous one, six Chinese clubs were still able to receive compensatory dividends, with Shandong Luneng at the top of the list. Compared to the last World Cup, the rise and fall of Chinese soccer has been a saddening change.
