22:48 - 24.07.2026
July 24, Fineko/abc.az. U.S. tax authorities have demanded that the Spanish national football team pay over $15 million—representing roughly 30% of their total World Cup prize money—in income taxes earned on American territory, Fox News reports.
Although FIFA regulations explicitly exempt tournament winners from local taxes in the host country, U.S. legal experts successfully argued a different interpretation of internal revenue law. They demonstrated that the Spanish team does not constitute a single corporate entity, but rather a collection of individual taxpayers operating on U.S. soil.
The move has triggered significant pushback from the Royal Spanish Football Federation and FIFA officials, setting a novel legal precedent for international sports tournaments hosted in the United States.
