The "disparity between the Champions League and Europa League will be reduced" after Europe's top clubs agreed to distribute the €2.24B ($2.41B) prize pot "more evenly from next season," according to Mark Cue of the LONDON TIMES. While the Champions League will "still provide the biggest riches, the current average payment, which is 4½ times more than that for playing in the Europa League," will fall back to a ratio of 3.3-to-1 under what the influential European Clubs Association and UEFA have described as a "revolutionary distribution mechanism." The ECA and UEFA said in a statement, "A greater proportion of funds than ever before will go to UEFA Europa League participants, to participants in the qualifying rounds and to clubs in medium/smaller championships." The change was agreed after a 65% increase in prize money, "fuelled by lucrative new broadcast deals." In the U.K., BT will pay £897M ($1.33B) to show the Champions League and Europa League live for the next three seasons, "more than double the current deal," signed in '11 with Sky and ITV (LONDON TIMES, 3/31). REUTERS' Brian Homewood reported ECA Chair Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said he was "pleased with the outcome." Rummenigge: "We have something like 220 clubs as members so we have big clubs like Real Madrid, mid-sized clubs like Porto and small clubs coming from Malta, Cyprus and so on. We have to care about club football as a whole and not just for the big and rich clubs." UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino said, "The key words in all of this are good governance ... dynamic governance with the involvement of the clubs directly in the executive committee of UEFA" (REUTERS, 3/31). SKY SPORTS' Bryan Swanson reported the prize money for the Champions League winners will rise from £7.6M ($11.3M) to £10.9M ($16.2M), with the winners earning a maximum of £39.6M ($58.7M) in addition to "their share of television money" (SKY SPORTS, 3/31).
LOI WINDFALL: In Dublin, Daniel McDonnell reported League of Ireland champion Dundalk will receive a minimum of €550,000 ($590,900) in prize money for competing in the '15-16 Champions League campaign. Europa League participants Cork City, St. Patrick's Athletic and Shamrock Rovers also "received good news" as they are guaranteed €200,000 ($215,000) -- a figure that will increase to €410,000 ($440,000) if they get through the first round of that competition (IRISH INDEPENDENT, 3/31).
