We’ve got Friday Night Lights in the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland, and for the next six weeks, that will extend to Thursday Night Euro Lights as well for Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers.
The excitement for the fans and the players is very real, and the financial rewards are likewise.
By securing their place in the Group Stage of the UEFA Europa Conference League, both clubs have already guaranteed themselves around €3.8 million. That figure combines UEFA’s base payment for reaching the groups with earlier qualifying bonuses. This windfall dwarfs what they could hope to earn in a single domestic season.
But the rewards don’t stop there. Every result in the group phase adds more to the pot. The sums will rise by €400,000 for a win and by €133,000 for a draw. Even one good night in Dublin, or on the road in Prague, Athens, or London, can significantly boost the financial return.
Should either side make it out of the group, a tough ask, but not impossible given recent Irish progress in Europe, the stakes grow rapidly.
A place in the Round of 16 carries a bonus of €800,000, rising to €1.3 million for the quarter-finals, €2.5 million for the semis, and €4 million for the runners-up. The ultimate prize, for lifting the trophy in May, is a cool €7 million in addition to everything else.
Realistically, if Shelbourne or Shamrock Rovers can collect a couple of wins and perhaps make it to the knockout rounds, their total earnings could push beyond €5 million. For clubs operating in the more modest financial landscape of the League of Ireland football, this is transformative, allowing for greater development of talent and raising all clubs in the League to some extent.
For Shelbourne, the journey begins in front of their own fans tonight, albeit in Tallaght Stadium, when they welcome Swedish side Häcken to Dublin. Two weeks later, on 23rd October, the Reds head to North Macedonia to face Shkëndija, before returning to Dublin for another home clash against Kosovo’s Drita on 6 November.
The real glamour arrives later in the group. A daunting trip to the Netherlands against AZ Alkmaar awaits on November 27th, before a showpiece night in Dublin when Crystal Palace come to town on December 11th. Shelbourne’s adventure concludes with a December 18th trip to Slovenia to face Celje, a game that could prove decisive in their bid to extend their European run.
Rovers face a road test to start their campaign. Their opening fixture is away to Czech champions Sparta Praha tonight – as tough a curtain-raiser as they could have drawn. But the Hoops won’t have long to wait for home comforts, hosting Slovenia’s Celje on 23 October.
November is equally demanding: a trip to Athens on 6 November to face AEK, followed by a home clash against Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk on 27 November. As Christmas approaches, Rovers travel to Iceland to face Breidablik on 11 December, before rounding off the group in Tallaght on 18 December against Malta’s Hamrun Spartans.
It promises to be some adventure.
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