Found an error?
Report now
Christian Fassnacht (right) will face YB team-mate Armin Gigovic in the group stage of the World Cup.
Picture: Keystone
Twelve players who earn their money in Switzerland are represented at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The Young Boys are providing most of the players, and there is even a player from the U21 squad. This is also lucrative for their clubs.
YB have had a season to forget. Despite this, the Bernese club has released by far the most players of all Super League teams for the World Cup. With Christian Fassnacht (32/SUI), Armin Gigovic (24/BIH), Jaouen Hadjam (23/ALG), Marvin Keller (23/SUI) and Yan Valery (27/TUN), who was loaned out from Sheffield Wednesday in the second half of the season, five players from the professional squad are heading overseas. They will be joined by Keeto Thermoncy (20/HAI), a player from the U21 squad that plays in the Promotion League.
Explosive: Gigovic and Bosnia-Herzegovina will face Switzerland with Keller and Fassnacht in the second group game, with the Swedish-born Bosnian having the best chances of the trio.
Lugano are represented twice with Mohamed Belhadj Mahmoud (26/TUN) and Hannes Delcroix (27/HAI), who are still under contract until July. Cup winners St. Gallen, Servette and Zurich each have one player in Lawrence Ati Zigi (29/GHA), Dylan Bronn (30/TUN) and Livano Comenencia (22/CUW). One player from the Challenge League, goalkeeper Melvin Mastil (26/ALG), has also been loaned to Nyon by Lausanne.
By participating in the World Cup, the players provide their clubs with a financial boost. FIFA compensates every club with World Cup players. Four years ago in Qatar, each player received around CHF 8,700 per day. According to a study by the German credit bank on compensation for clubs, the amount per player for the 2026 tournament is likely to remain roughly the same.
The 10-day preparation period is also taken into account by FIFA, which means that each player should receive at least 25 World Cup days. This means that YB, with 6 participants, will earn around CHF 1.3 million in the worst-case scenario. If Switzerland or Algeria, for example, make it to the knockout phase, this amount will increase even further. Even advancing to the round of 16 extends the tournament by up to a week for the stars involved.
Behind YB, Lugano can look forward to at least around CHF 450,000 thanks to Haiti player Delcroix and the Tunisian Hadj Mahmoud. FC Zurich (Curaçao's Livano Comenencia), Servette (Dylan Bronn), St.Gallen (Lawrence Ati Zigi) and Lausanne (Melvin Mastil) can look forward to around CHF 220,000 in the worst-case scenario.
09.06.2026, 10:35
09.06.2026, 10:36
