UEFA has expanded the format of the European cups so much and allocated so much money to the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League that even our extremely weak teams have something to hope for. Both sportingly and financially.
Gigi Becali, a patron who earns money from football. PHOTO: The Truth Archive
The case of the FCSB speaks for itself. From the moment it eliminated two teams in the preliminaries of the Champions League, Virtus (San Marino) and Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel), the Romanian champion ensured its presence in the Conference League groups, in the worst case.
Now, with the failure with Sparta Prague (Czech Republic), the club lost the chance to earn almost 20 million euros by being in the Champions League groups. Indeed, with the minimal investments and the football shown in the return leg with Sparta Prague, the regrets must be commensurate with the financial and sporting performance. It was seen, once again, why Romania did not have a representative in the Champions League groups after the 2013-2014 season. In short: we are very far from the level of this competition.
The good news is that, in the continuation of the European journey, FCSB has the chance to win big sums. Here’s what the numbers tell us, with “TAP“UEFA wide open:
*So far, FCSB has collected 1,050,000 euros thanks to participation in the Champions League preliminaries: 150,000 euros for the first round, 350,000 for the second round and 550,000 for the double with Sparta Prague.
*To the above bonus, the sum of 175,000 euros will now be added for the double with LASK Linz. Which means that, in total, the adventure of the red-blues in the preliminary rounds is worth 1,225,000 euros. But the money will come, still!
*If they eliminate LASK Linz and advance to the Europa League groups, FCSB will be rewarded by UEFA with the amount of 4,300,000 euros. Then, in the groups, the victory is worth 450,000 euros, and the draw 150,000.
*If FCSB lose the double with LASK Linz, then they will go to the Conference League groups. The presence in this competition means a bonus of 3,170,000 euros. Then, a match won in the groups is worth 400,000 euros, and a draw brings 133,000 euros.
As can be seen, the differences are small and the Europa League and Conference League offer close amounts. In the case of FCSB, including a disappointing run in the Conference League, the team can approach total receipts of about 10,000,000 euros, with the money from UEFA and the sums earned from TV rights and ticket sales. Which is extraordinary for the poverty that reigns in our domestic football!
The remaining Romanian teams in the European cups
Champions League, preliminary round III
Tuesday
FCSB – Sparta Prague 2-3 (1-1 in the round)
Conference League, preliminary round III
Yesterday
Astana (Kazakhstan) – Corvinul Hunedoara 6-1 (2-1 in the round)
Today
CFR Cluj – Maccabi Petah Tikva (Israel) (1-0 in the round)
20.00, Digi Sport 1, Prima Sport 1
Europa League, play-offs
August 22: LASK Linz (Austria) – FCSB
August 29: FCSB – LASK Linz
Times and telecasts will be determined later.
