1 week Ago By [email protected] (Mark McCadden)
Shamrock Rovers kick off their third ever European group stage - or league stage, as it is now known - campaign when they host Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia on Thursday in Tallaght Stadium. Along with the prestige of competing at the business end of continental competition, the League of Ireland champions are also set for a UEFA windfall, with all competing clubs vying for their share of a €285 million Europa Conference League pot. Already guaranteed a massive seven-figure cheque, they can add performance related bonuses to their final tally - starting on Thursday against APOEL.
READ MORE: Champions League record wins and losses as Brendan Rogers' Celtic suffer Borussia Dortmund bashing READ MORE: How a 'really cute' dog named Dulce was responsible for launching career of Ireland international Last year the Hoops made just shy of €1 million ( €843,000 ) when they failed to progress in the Champions League, losing to Icelandic side Breidablik, and in the Europa League, bowing out to Ferencvaros. This time around they saw off Icelandic opposition in Vikingur, winning 2-1 on aggregate in the Champions League, before losing to Sparta Prague. Winning their first round tie, however, smoothed the path to league stage football, and when they saw off Celje in the Europa League third qualifying round it was just a matter of in which competition they would end up.
Greek giants PAOK claimed an easy win in the play-off, earning them progression to the Europa League and sending Rovers into the Conference League. So what does that mean financially for the Tallaght-based side? Had they not seen off Celje, they still would have earned a big improvement on 12 months previous, by banking somewhere between €1.4 million and €1.
7 million. But Rovers are now guaranteed a minimum €3.87 million in prize money, regardless of how they do against APOEL, Larne, The New Saints, Rapid Vienna, Borac Banja Luka and Chelsea.
The breakdown of that figure is €3.17 million for reaching the Conference League proper, on top of €175,000 for each of their four qualifying rounds. And they can add to that, with UEFA rewarding teams to the tune of €400,000 per win and €133,000 per draw.
Two years ago Rovers claimed just over €4 million in total when they reached the Conference League group stage, including €332,000 for home draws against Gent and Djurgardens. As for this time around, ticket sales should also see the club pocket revenue of €150,000 to €180,000 for each of their three home games, while sponsorship and advertising revenue, and merchandise sales will also bring more money into the club’s coffers. It doesn’t end there.
UEFA will divide out additional prize money at the end of the tournament relating to rankings and television revenue. And if Rovers are to progress from the group stages to the knockout play-offs, which is more likely under the new format, that would be worth an additional €200,000 . Teams that make the last-16 will bank another €800,000 , while the prize for making the quarter-finals is €1.
3 million . Semi-finals: €2.5 million Runner-up: €4 million Winner: €7 million Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts .
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