Irish clubs set for European bonanza following big increase in Uefa prize money

Winning their opening fixture in the qualifying round of the Champions League this summer would be worth €630,000 to Dundalk on top of the €550,000 the club is already guaranteed just for participating under the new arrangements for distribution of the competition's greatly increased revenue announced by Uefa and the European Club Association (ECA).

The new deal between the two organisations includes provisions for clubs to be represented at Uefa Executive Committee level for the first time and to receive a significantly increased share of European Championship revenues (eight per cent, or at least €200 million) from 2020 onwards.

The most immediate benefit for Irish clubs, though, comes is the form of substantially improved pay-outs for those sides participating in the qualifying stages of the two European club competitions. In the case of Dundalk who, as things stand, will go in at the second round stage as an unseeded side, that means €300,000 for participating in that round plus the €250,000 that every club that fails to make the group stages is guaranteed to receive.

Should the Airtricity League champions, who received €100,000 in prize money for actually winning the title, make it through that round, however, they will get a further €400,000 for taking part in the third qualifying round, where even defeat carries with it the consolation prize of Europa League play-off round entry and a further €230,000 in guaranteed prize money; something that would bring their total haul up to €1.18 million.

If, on the other hand, Stephen Kenny’s side managed to progress a second time by winning their third round tie and so qualified for the Champions League play-off round, they would be guaranteed at least an additional €2.6 million plus participation in the Europa League group stage in the event that they were beaten. Qualification for the Champions League proper would, all told, be worth just short of €15 million.

"The likelihood of a team from the league here qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League is miniscule," says Dundalk chairman Ciaran Bond, "but this announcement means that even what we can realistically aim for is massive by our standards.

“If we can through one round it’s over a million euro – last year we turned over €1.1 million – and at that stage we’d be playing for three times that. For a club like ourselves with an ageing stadium and a pitch that we have to look at replacing it’s a huge opportunity.”

In the circumstances, Bond says, priority needs to be given by the League to helping clubs in Europe through the favourable rearrangement of domestic fixtures during the weeks involved.

“Last year they were fairly sensible but the onus really is on the league to make sure that during those few weeks we all have the best chance possible to progress; this is massive money to us and the Europa League money is very significant too.”

The increases in that competition mean that Shamrock Rovers and Cork City, both of whom are expected to go in at the first round stage, will be a guaranteed €200,000, up from €120,000 last year, while St Patrick’s Athletic, who will start their campaign a round later, will receive at least €210,000.

At the business end of the two competitions the prize funds have also been greatly increased thanks to the new commercial and broadcast deals done for the 2015-18 period, with some funds diverted from the Champions League to the Europa League so as to somewhat reduce the disparity of riches.

Last year, clubs in the Champions League received €4.3 million in prize money for every million distributed amongst participants in the Europa League. Over the next three seasons, the corresponding figure will be €3.3 million but the Champions League winners next season will still get around €55 million, compared to Real Madrid’s roughly €37 million, before their share of “market pool” television rights money.

That figure depends on a number of factors, including the club’s league position the previous season, and the amount of revenue generated from its market. It was worth around €20 million to Real a year ago and the overall pot from which the money is distributed is about to increase by about around 20 per cent.