Playoff Teams Seek £60m Premiership Prize
03/05/2007 |
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The winner of the playoff final for promotion to England's Premiership will get 60 million pounds ($119 million), the largest financial reward in soccer and a 50 percent increase from last year, a report today showed.
Promotion from the second-tier Championship was worth 40 million pounds in broadcast and other revenue to Watford, which defeated Leeds in the 2006 final, according to Deloitte & Touche LLP. The May 28 match at London's Wembley stadium will be contested by two of seven teams including Derby and Stoke, who all play this weekend to determine the final standings.
Teams' average income in the Championship was 18 percent of the 68 million pounds that clubs generated in the top division in fiscal 2005. That gap is poised to widen from August because of new three-year broadcasting contracts that will double television revenue.
``The immediate revenue boost can provide promoted clubs with the finances to bridge the gap between Championship and Premiership revenues,'' Alex Byars, senior consultant in Deloitte's Sports Business Group, said in a statement.
Birmingham and Sunderland have already won promotion by finishing first and second in the standings, while Derby has secured the first of four places in the playoff semifinals. With one league game left, West Brom, Wolves, Southampton, Stoke, Preston and Colchester are competing for the final three spots.
Boardroom Tension
``The final fixtures on Sunday promise drama and tension on the pitch, on the terraces and in the boardroom,'' said Paul Rawnsley, director of the Sports Business Group.
The Premier League will make about 2.7 billion pounds from domestic and overseas broadcasters over the next three years, up from 1.3 billion pounds under the existing contract.
Teams will receive 35 million to 50 million pounds depending on how many live games they feature in and their final league position. Championship teams made on average 2.2 million pounds from television in 2005, Deloitte says.
Promotion will provide teams with extra sales of at least 35 million pounds per season, Deloitte said. The three teams relegated at the end of the season will then receive 10 million pounds in each of the next two years to cushion the decline in revenue.
``Carrying the winning mentality from the Championship, whilst raising the club's operations to a Premiership level, is likely to determine whether or not the promoted clubs stay up,'' said Byars.
Watford, promoted last campaign, is at the bottom of the Premiership and will play next season in the Championship.
(Source: Bloomberg.com)
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