The success of this tournament, which has barely registered on the global football consciousness so far, largely hinges on clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
They have negotiated substantial revenue to be part of it - they should earn a minimum of £40m if they progress from the group stage and can earn up to £97m for winning it. That revenue is comparable to the money earned from taking part in the Champions League.
But not all clubs are equal. The smaller European clubs to have qualified, such as RB Salzburg, will only get around £15m if they qualify from the group. South American clubs such as Boca Juniors, River Plate and Flamengo are due a similar sum.
Teams in North America, Asia, Africa and Auckland City, the only club from Oceania, will get even less.
Of course, the biggest clubs will argue they are already stretched in terms of the football calendar and will miss out on pre-season revenue but this tournament now looks very worthwhile for those involved.
Those revenues will give Chelsea and Manchester City more room to stay on the right side of profit and sustainability regulations, but they could distort the competition with smaller leagues in Europe and beyond, in the same way that Champions League participation gives those involved a major financial advantage.
Fifa said this tournament will help grow the game beyond Europe and distribute money to clubs outside the traditional elite.
But the elite have leveraged their importance in negotiations to get a bigger share of the total prize fund.
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