SHAMROCK ROVERS HAVE guaranteed a minimum of €3.8 million in European prize money after their stunning Europa League third qualifying round win.
Stephen Bradley’s side came from behind on aggregate to beat Celje last night and secure a coveted play-off against PAOK.
The winner of that tie will book their place in the revamped Europa League, while the loser earns the consolation prize of direct qualification for the Conference League group stages.
Regardless, there will be windfall included.
What have Shamrock Rovers earned to date?
Before last night’s win, the Hoops had already guaranteed themselves a minimum of €1.45 million from this year’s European campaign — a sum which would have likely ended up in the region of the €1.71m they collected in 2023 once Uefa’s additional payouts were factored in.
Back in 2022, they earned just over €4 million in prize money from a European adventure that included two draws in the Europa Conference League group stages.
What does last night’s win guarantee them at minimum?
By beating Celje, Rovers are now guaranteed group stage football in the Conference League at worst — and with it, a total European pot of at least €3.87m this season.
Each of the 36 clubs that qualify for the Conference League group stages receive €3.17m. On top of that, Rovers would receive €175,000 for each of their four qualifying rounds en route to the group stages, topping up the cash pile to €3.87m.
It could get even better for the Tallaght club depending on their performances in the six group stage games, where they can earn a bonus of €400k for each win and €133k for each draw.
They could also add more from additional five-year and ten-year rankings Uefa prize money and, of course, progression from the group stages.
What would the upgrade be if they qualified for Europa League groups rather than the Conference League groups?
If Rovers were to beat PAOK and qualify for the Europa League group stages, it would be worth around €1m more.
Each of the 36 clubs that qualify for the Europa League group stages will secure €4.31m, as well as the €175k bonus for every qualification round prior to the play-off round (three in Rovers’ case), which would bring them up to a grand total of €4.835m.
On top of that each team plays eight games in the group stage of the Europa League, as opposed to six in the Conference League, with increased bonuses of €450k per win and €150k per draw off
What about St Patrick’s Athletic?
Earlier on Thursday evening, St Pat’s started a memorable night for League of Ireland clubs in Europe as they reached the Conference League play-off stages.
Stephen Kenny’s side overcame Sabah FK in the third qualifying round, and guaranteed themselves a minimum of €1.275m in prize money this season.
Should they lose their playoff, that total will be made up of €750k for exiting in the playoff round, plus €175k for each of the three qualification rounds they played in.
But should they beat Istanbul Basaksehir to qualify for the group stage proper, they will bank just under €3.7m in total, with the prospect of more to follow depending on their performances.
