2010 FIFA World Cup: It's All About The Money in Spain

If you win an important tournament in any kind of sport, you will get paid.

The World Cup is no different, and every national team has already settled how much they will win, depending on performance.

Soccer is a team game, but the money they decided will be payed to each player, not to the whole team.

If the are victorious, the Englishmen would be the third best paid (€475,000) following the Argentinians (€510,000). But the country that pays best for a win is Spain (€600,000).

France is the only team that comes close to this group (€390,000), while the last two champion are far away (Italy, €240,000; Brazil, €180,000)

This payment would be more than double of what they got for winning the Euro Cup (€250,000) and makes them the highest paid of the 32 teams, in case of winning.

They would only be paid if they get to the quarterfinals, or further. €60,000 for the quarterfinals, €90,000 for the semifinals, €120,000 for playing the final, and €600,000 for winning it, is what every Spanish national team player would get.

This has outraged most of Spain's political world and a lot of the citizens (including me). Spanish authorities have come forward and assured that the money doesn't come from national fund, as the Federación Española de Fútbol (Spanish football federation) receives some money from the government, but this money is not allowed to be used for prizes, the prize money should come from the sponsors.

Izquierda Unida (a Spanish political party) has asked the government to limit the team's prize money, while ERC (another political party) has asked the players not to take the money, because of the economic crisis affecting Spain and other countries.

If Germany wins, they will receive €250,000, but will donate most of it to the Robert Enke Foundation. Win or lose, Spanish players have agreed to give some money to several NGOs to help kids in Africa. The Spanish players are part of a solidarity campaign to help fight malaria, an infectious disease that causes death to a kid in Africa every 30 seconds.