EURO 2016: 24 teams jostle for €301m prize money

All is set for the 15th edition of the biggest football carnival in Europe as the UEFA European Championship, EURO 2016, kicks off in France today 10th June and runs through 10th July 2016.

It is not only about participating and the glory of being crowned European Champions at EURO 2016. There are also significant financial incentives attached to featuring at the tournament.

Host nation France will flag off their UEFA EURO 2016 against Romania at the St-Denis while back to back champions, Spain, start their defence versus the Czech Republic three days later.

This year edition of the quadrennial international men’s football championship promises to be more lucrative as UEFA have increased the prize money by 50 percent.

For the first time in the history of the competition, twenty four teams jostling for the €301m prize money.
A total of 51 games will played, where 24 teams will lock horn in what will be the biggest European Championship tournament ever. 65% increase in matches compared to just 31 played during 2012 competition, bringing more than 80% more tickets available for the competition and because the competition is taking place in one of the top 5 markets which makes it more premium valued than the last 20 years of competitions.

UEFA is expected to generate around €450 million to €500 million in revenues for the competition compared the roughly €300 million revenues generated four years ago jointly hosted by Poland and Ukraine. The increase in revenue means that the prize money awarded to teams will increase as well. In the last 15 years total prize money pool of the competitions has been increasing every four years and here we break down the sharing formula for the €301 million prize money from the group and knockout stages to the finals.

All the twenty four finalists will benefit from the substantial increase in the amount distributed to the participating teams. The national teams will share a total of €301m compared to the €196m distributed at UEFA EURO 2012 in Poland and Ukraine and the €184m in Austria and Switzerland.

All the competing teams will pocket a participating fee of eight million Euros (€8m). During the group stage, there are also performance bonuses of €1m for a win and €500,000 for a draw.

There are more incentives for every team that makes it to the knockout stage. The teams participating in the round of 16 will receive €1.5m; while the eight quarter-finalists will earn additional bonuses of €2.5m. The financial reward for reaching the semi-finals is an extra payment of €4m for each team.

For the final, which will be played at the Stade de France on July 10th, the winners will take home a staggering eight million Euros (€8m) while the runners-up will pocket five million (€5m).

Looking at the break down, potential earnings for EURO 2016 winners can reach as much as €27 million, compared with €23.5 million in 2012.

“This means that, if the winners of the title have also won all three of their group matches, the total prize money they earn will amount to 27 million euros, compared with 23.5 million euros in 2012,” said a UEFA statement.

Also, runners-up will grab €24 million and losing semifinalists can pocket as much as €19 million depending on how they perform in group stages.

For the two teams who take the field for the final at the Stade de France in Paris on 10 July, the 2016 European champions will receive €8m while there will be a reward of €5m for the runners-up.
ANTHONY NLEBEM