The £189million pot Newcastle United are set to benefit from during the World Cup

The Qatar World Cup starts on Sunday, November 20 when Qatar host Ecuador to kick-off the tournament. In a World Cup like no other, the final will take place just a week before Christmas Day with the Premier League set to resume on Boxing Day.

Whilst domestic seasons across the world are suspended so the tournament can take place, FIFA have set aside £189million for clubs who have players representing their nations in Qatar. This money will be given out to clubs based on how many players they have away on international duty during the tournament.

Each club is expected to receive around £9,000 per player for every day they are away. These payments will start from the day the player joins up with their national team and ends when the nation plays its final game of the tournament.

However, clubs will only receive the full £9,000 per player if they were signed at least two years before the beginning of the tournament. If a player is signed inside that window, then the money will be shared proportionally with his previous employers.

This means, for example, the money received by Newcastle for Bruno Guimaraes’ Brazil call-up will be distributed between themselves and Lyon. Call-ups for Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier also mean Newcastle will have to share this money with Burnley and Atletico Madrid respectively.

Fabian Schar’s call-up to represent Switzerland and Callum Wilson’s England selection, means Newcastle will receive the full £9,000 payment for every day the pair away. If Switzerland were to defy the odds in Qatar and reach the semi-finals of the tournament, then Newcastle would be in-line for a payment of around £300,000.

These payments would, of course, be scaled down should Brazil or England reach the semi-finals, based on the criteria laid out above. And whilst in modern football this money isn’t too significant for a Premier League side, all avenues of adding revenue to the club will be a welcome boost for Newcastle United’s owners as they look for ways to overcome the limitations set by Financial Fair Play restrictions as they aim to grow the club on and off the pitch.