Champions League restarts, over 300 million bonus for Italian clubs
Napoli, Inter, Juve and Atalanta make their debut with challenging matches in the new European cup season and go in search of sporting results and revenue
3' min read
3' min read
It will not be an easy debut for the Italian teams in the second season of the Super Champions League. First on the pitch will be Juventus, who will receive Borussia Dortmund at the Allianz Stadium on Tuesday 16 September. On the day Inter will fly to Amsterdam to take on Ajax, while Atalanta are expected at the Parc des Princes in Paris by reigning champions Psg. Scudetto-winning Napoli, on the other hand, will face Manchester City on Thursday 18 September, again away at the Etihad Stadium. Challenging challenges, but in order to place in the best positions in the 36-team single group, it will be necessary to start off on the right foot. In a context where domestic revenues grow little and stadiums remain an unresolved issue, advancing in the Uefa cups represents vital oxygen for Italian football.
The total prize money of the Champions League exceeds EUR 3.3 billion, of which almost EUR 2.5 billion (exactly EUR 2.437 billion) goes to the clubs (for comparison, the 36 clubs in the Europa League get EUR 565 million and those in the Conference only EUR 285 million).
This flow of resources is distributed according to three parameters: an equal share for all (27.5%, i.e. a total of 670 million or approximately 18.6 million per team); the market pool/historical ranking (35%, i.e. 853 million distributed on the basis of the team's palmares and national television markets); and sporting performance (37.5%, i.e. 914 million), the weight of which was increased with the introduction of the new format.
Winning a match in the group stage is worth 2.1 million, drawing 700 thousand. There will be prizes for the position gained in the single ranking, while qualification for the play-offs will be worth EUR 1 million. Clubs that are able to go ahead in the competition will benefit the most: the round of 16 is worth 11 million, the quarter-finals 12.5 million, the semi-finals 15 million and reaching the final 18.5 million. Lifting the trophy ensures an additional 6.5 million (in addition to the 4 million for access to the UEFA Super Cup with the possibility, by winning it, to add another).
In addition to these revenues, there are the box-office receipts that are exclusively due to the club hosting the match and any incentives provided for in contracts with sponsors linked to the achievement of certain continental targets.
