5) Brazilian real (BRL)
Brazil has won the World Cup five times in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002.
The Brazilian real was introduced to the country in 1994 following two decades featuring persistent cycles of high inflation and even hyper-inflation. According to the Banco Central do Brasil, the Brazilian central bank, despite an increasing use of digital transfers, payments in cash are customary and the majority of the population, especially in the countryside, continue to collect their wages in cash.
Brazilian real banknotes are regarded as some of the safest in the world, with advanced security features including: a watermark, magnetic security thread, latent image, see-through register, tactile intaglio printing, optically variable magnetic ink, and a hologram stripe.
6) Qatari riyal (QAR)
Qatar hosted the 2022 World Cup which was won by Argentina following a penalty shoot-out against France.
According to the Qatar Central Bank, before 1959 several currencies circulated in the Arab Gulf region including the Ottoman Majidi riyal, the French silver riyal, the golden pound sterling, and the Indian silver and copper rupees.
The Qatari riyal became the official currency in 1967 when it replaced the Gulf rupee and came into circulation as the country began to consolidate its economic identity. The currency consists of 100 dirhams.
Partly due to its heavy reliance of the export of natural gas, the Qatari riyal is pegged to the US dollar at a rate of about 3.64. Based on the number of US dollars that can be bought by another country’s base unit of currency, this makes Qatari riyal one of world’s strongest.
7) Turkish lira (TRY)
Turkey has reached its first World Cup finals since 2002 after a narrow 1-0 play-off win against Kosovo.
According to Westen Union, the Turkish lira’s history is deeply connected with the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of the modern Turkish state. The term ‘lira’ originates from the ancient Roman ‘libra’ which was a unit of weight.
CFI says that the introduction of TRY as a currency was divided into two phases. The first phase took place between 1923 and 2005, while the second one started from 2005 onwards. Throughout its history, the Turkish lira has been pegged at various times to the British pound sterling, the French franc, and the US dollar.
8) Moroccan dirham (MAD)
Earlier this year, Morocco were declared the winners of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, having been controversially awarded the trophy following the team’s original 1-0 defeat to Senegal in the final.
According to Travelex, the official currency of Morocco is the dirham which is sub-divided into santim. For a short period during the early 20th century, the currency was switched to the Moroccan franc when the country was a protectorate of France.
The dirham originates from the Byzantine empire, the eastern side of Roman civilisation in Europe and Asia. The word ‘dirham’ is thought to originate from ‘drachma’, the name of the historical Greek currency.
9) Ghanaian Cedi (GHS)
Ghana has reached the World Cup on four previous occasions making the quarter-finals in both 2014 and 2022.
Ghana gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1957. Its first currency after that time was the Ghanaian pound which, according to Remitly, was replaced by the cedi in 1965. Cedi is the Akan word for cowry. This is a type of shell that had been used as a form of currency in the region five hundred years earlier, and even up until the start of the 20th century.
10) Caribbean guilder (XCG)
With a population of just 150,000 and a land area of 170 square miles, the Dutch island country of Curaçao is the smallest nation ever to qualify for the World Cup finals. It lies about 40 miles north of Venezuela and mainland South America.
The country used to form part of the Netherlands Antilles. Nowadays, along with Sint Maarten, Curaçao’s currency is the Caribbean Guilder which is virtually brand new having only been introduced on 31 March 2025.
Banknotes are inspired by the theme ‘World under the sea’. To ensure stability, the Caribbean guilder is pegged to the US dollar at a fixed exchange rate of $1 = XCG 1.79.
