POOLING OUR RESOURCES
CHAMPIONS
LEAGUE
If we accept that money makes the world go around, then we have to accept that
it makes the footballing world go around as well.
The UEFA Champions League provokes all sorts of reactions. Some don't like to
talk about the money. Others only want to talk about the money! In general, foot
ball-lovers want, above all else, the best possible results for their team. At the
same time, they are reassured by the financial spin-off which enables their club to
remain competitive at the highest level.
UEFA has always Insisted on transparant accounting and the concept of ploughing
UEFA Champions League income straight back into football not exclusively into the
coffers of the participating teams but also into member associations who must saf
eguard the future of the game as a whole.
Some of the figures for the 1995-96 season are already available. The fixed guar
antee of 2m Swiss francs; the bonus 900,00 francs per win and 450,000 per draw
during the group phase; and a payment of 2.8m francs for reaching the quarter
finals alow us to calculate the following earnings for the eight quarter-finals who
restarted the UEFA Champions League after the winter break:
Spartak Moscow 10,200,000
AFC Ajax 9,750,000
Juventus FC 8,850,000
Panathinaikos FC 8,400,000
Real Madrid 7,950,000
Borussia Dortmund 7,050,000
FC Nantes Atlantique 7,050,000
Legia Warszawa 7,050,000
The four semi-finalists can add a further 2.8m francs to those totals, and remem
ber that, apart from the final, gate receipts belong to the home club.
Apart from all this, UEFA's Executive Committee recently approved a share-out of
22,625,000 Swiss francs derived from the TV Pool.
This is a fairly complex operation wherby TV monies are channeled back on a pro
rata basis. In other words, those who contribute more get more back. All the
money is paid to national associations who can retain 25% and pass the remaining
75% to the participating clubs. In this way, useful and important sums are made
available for the administration and development of the game.
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