UEFA distributed over €900 million to the clubs that competed in last season’s Champions’ League. The money is distributed via a calculation based on a minimum amount for those playing in the group stage of €8.6 million followed by bonuses based on performance, stage of elimination and the value of individual nations TV contribution to the UEFA pool.
The collective bargaining and continued beguiling power of club soccer at the highest level produced a top payout of €65 million for Juventus who were knocked out at the quarter finals but were one of only two Italian sides to make it to the main competition and thus had a larger split of the lucrative Italian TV market.
Winners Bayern Munich took in €55 million, marginally ahead of beaten finalists Borussia Dortmund.
The total amount represents a 20% increase on the previous season, in real terms a massive €150 million or more than three times the entire annual disbursement through the Irish Sports Council.
The seven English Premier League clubs competing in the Champions’ League, where none made it to the last eight, and in the Europa League where victory was worth €10 million to Chelsea, bagged over €150 million between them.
Every win at the group stage was worth exactly €1 million with a draw worth half that.
It puts into very clear perspective the challenges face by the likes of Sligo Rovers who exited the competition this week but who will earn prize money of €100,000 if they can retain the Airtricity Premier League title they won last year.
If they had managed to get through that round and one more they would have qualified for solidarity payments totalling more than €2 million regardless of the result in the final qualifying round. If they had won that, the minimum amount secured by teams last season that made it to the groups stage, including from Belarus was over €10 million.
Sports Tourism Seminar at Croke Park (September 19th)
Sport for Business 20/20 at Ulster Bank HQ (October 8th)
The Business of Youth Sport Seminar (November 28th)
