LONDON — FIFA will advance $2 million in prize money to each of the five African teams that have qualified for the World Cup to help them prepare for the tournament, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) said.

Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia have qualified for the tournament in Russia, and CAF President Ahmad Ahmad said in a statement that the money would be used to settle beforehand the question of bonuses due the players.

Disputes over payments at previous tournaments had led to situations that affected badly the image of African football, with a considerable impact on team performances, he added.

Last year, Nigeria's Football Federation (NFF) signed an agreement with its players pledging to avoid the bonus and pay rows that have blighted past World Cup campaigns.

The Super Eagles were involved in a protracted dispute ahead of the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil and a bonus row also disrupted their World Cup campaign in 2014. Similar problems have affected other African teams. The 32 teams taking part in the June-July tournament receive $1.5 million each from FIFA in the form of a preparation fee and are guaranteed a minimum of $8 million more in prize money after the tournament ends.

FIFA talks on ambitious new competitons FIFA began talks in Zurich on Monday over two new proposed competitions which could reshape international soccer and be worth billions of dollars to the global soccer body.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has put forward ambitious plans for a revamped version of the Club World Cup and a new global Nations League competition. The plans were discussed by representatives of the six continental confederations at a meeting at FIFA headquarters on Monday.

Officials did not comment on a timeline but Philippe Moggio, general secretary of the CONCACAF which organizes football in North and Central America and the Caribbean, said that there was a sense of urgency to move forward.

The plans were initially presented at the last FIFA Council meeting in Bogota in March. Earlier this month, Infantino confirmed that investors had shown interest in backing an expanded Club World Cup but did not comment on the amount involved which has been reported as being up to $25 billion over a 12-year period.

FIFA said in a subsequent statement that the meeting took place in a friendly and positive environment and that a working group had been created to analyze further the relevance and feasibility of staging both competitions.

FIFA's plans for the Club World Cup would involve expanding it to 24 teams — including 12 from Europe — and staging it every four years instead of annually as happens at present.

The Nations League would be a global version of the new competitions, which are being introduced by UEFA in Europe and CONCACAF in North and Central American and the Caribbean.

In both cases, the competitions involve all the national teams in the respective continents who are divided into divisions based on their rankings. There is promotion and relegation between the divisions, as in conventional domestic leagues. Each division is sub-divided into groups with the winners qualifying for a knockout contest. — Reuters