UEFA increases prize money to put halt to Super League hopes
For the last few months, the European Super League scenario has dominated the conversation. The current leaders of the planned league, Real Madrid and Barcelona, want it to eventually replace UEFA’s tournaments.
After much deliberation, the European Supreme Court ruled in favor of the ESL in December 2023. According to them, UEFA has no business interfering with their plans to launch a new tournament since the sport is open to anyone.
As a result, the Super League included themselves in the equation once again. Nevertheless, they have encountered even more obstacles, as several teams have publicly condemned the tournament. Instead, they have aligned their support with UEFA throughout.
Prize money in UEFA club competitions rises
The governing body of football in Europe is hell-bent on maintaining its position and has made significant steps in that direction. The establishment of the league is a big concern for them.
Therefore, to maintain the allegiance of the best clubs and prevent them from defecting to their rivals, UEFA made a historic move. From 2024-2027, the governing body intends to raise $5 billion, according to the reports.
The total prize fund for all three of UEFA’s championships is increasing by $538 million, according to Relevo. In addition, the participants will get 93.5 percent of the tournaments’ earnings, while UEFA will keep just 6.5 percent.
Also, based on their results in Europe over the last decade, the “bigger” clubs will get a larger share of the broadcast revenue, so they stand to gain even more.
Nearly $140 million is what UEFA is now offering to the winner of the Champions League. Next season, all of the European men’s club championships will share in a minimum of $4.74 billion in promised funding, according to the organization.
The statement said that teams failing to go beyond the European qualifying rounds would get $474 million, or 10 percent of the total. Conversely, so would teams from the highest tiers of European soccer that failed to earn a single UEFA tournament berth.
Some have speculated that UEFA is trying to win over clubs that are skeptical of its organization with this approach. Real Madrid and Barcelona also stand to gain from the adjustments, so it will be intriguing to see if their position changes as a result.
New Champions League format, new revenue
The number of clubs competing in the Champions League will increase from 24 to 36 starting with the next season. This shift has been planned for a while now.
In preparation for the 2024-25 season, UEFA has chosen to alter the structure of Europe’s premier club championship. As with every alteration, there are pros and cons to these modifications.
Many are worried about the impact on players’ health from adding extra matches to an already packed club schedule. On the other side, more matches and teams equal greater potential for money. Furthermore, this may be financially advantageous for the participating teams.
Then there is the additional revenue that may be generated from gate receipts. The more games a club has to play, the more money they may make from ticket sales.
PHOTOS: IMAGO.