UEFA raises 2008 prize money

UEFA has announced a substantial increase in the amount distributed to the teams taking part in UEFA EURO 2008™.

€184m on offer
European football's governing body said on Saturday, ahead of tomorrow's final-round draw in Lucerne, Switzerland, that €184m has been earmarked for the 16 teams competing for the European title in Austria and Switzerland next summer. That compares to the €129m distributed at UEFA EURO 2004™ in Portugal.

Participating fee
All 16 teams will receive a participating fee of €7.5m. During the group phase there are also performance bonuses of €1m for a win and €500,000 for a draw. Once UEFA EURO 2008™ enters its knockout phase, there are no more performance bonuses. Instead, the eight quarter-finalists will receive an additional payment of €2m. The financial prize for reaching the semi-finals is an extra payment of €3m.

Winners' windfall
For the two teams who take the field for the final at the Ernst-Happel Stadion in Vienna on 29 June, there will be a reward of €4.5m for the runners-up, while the 2008 European champions will receive €7.5m. It means that, if the winners have also won all three of their group matches, the total prize money they earn will amount to €23m, compared with €17.7m in 2004.