Shamrock Rovers start their UEFA Champions’ League campaign tonight with a home first leg against FK Ekranas of Lithuania in the tournament’s second qualifying round.
Rovers became the first Irish side to qualify for the later stages of a European competition last season and will hope a win tonight will boost their season which has seen them lag behind Sligo Rovers in the Airtricity Premier League. 
A strong campaign locally should see a sold out stadium at Tallaght and will give additional profile for first season sponsors SEAT who previously sponsored the Europa League.
Rovers’ ambitions in Europe would be modest in comparison to the bigger sides in the game but it can still be a lucrative exercise.
A total of €754 million was distributed among clubs participating last season with Chelsea and Bayern Munich earning the largest single sums.
Chelsea received €59.9 million payment from UEFA, made up of €29.9 million in participation, match and performance bonuses in the group and knockout stages, as well as €30 million from the television market pool.
Clubs like Shamrock Rovers which took part in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds also received solidarity payments.  Each domestic champion which did not qualify for the group stage received €200,000, while clubs who were eliminated in the three qualifying rounds received €130,000 for each round played, up to a maximum of €390,000. Each of the 20 teams involved in the play-off matches received a fixed amount of €2.1m, irrespective of the result of their ties.
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