Rugby anomaly: no prize money for those who win the Champions Cup

How much does the club that wins the 2023/24 Champions Cup earn? The answer is: lots of glory. Yes, because the top European club competition will not award any prize money to the winning team.

Read also: Champions Cup and Challenge Cup, the highlights and the list of the finalists

It was Brian Moore who noticed this peculiarity, or anomaly compared to all other sports, from the columns of Telegraph to which several sources, including the European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) itself, have confirmed that this year’s Champions Cup does not include cash prizes for the club that lifts the Cup as well as for the finalist and semi-finalists. In fact, the companies generate and share the revenue deriving from collections.

Rugby anomaly: no prize money for those who win the Champions Cup

Contrary to what one might think, it was not EPCR that imposed such a decision, it was the clubs themselves who decided to adopt this model that the Telegraph defines “socialist”. A model by its very nature is on the one hand very fair but on the other it can generate some distortions as highlighted by the English colleague.

“In the rounds preceding the semi-finals and the final, the competing clubs share the ticket proceeds. This means that both clubs’ expenses are covered and, in the case of the home team, could generate a profit. If, for example, Leinster play at the Aviva Stadium, it could mean both teams share the revenue of almost 52,000 spectators. If the match were played in Croke Park, the figures would be higher thanks to a capacity of 82,000 spectators. In many cases, Leinster’s opponents would be better off playing away as they would receive more money than playing at their home stadium.”

“When it comes to the last two stages of the Champions Cup, however, the proceeds are retained by the EPCR and the net proceeds are distributed among all 24 teams that participated in the competition that year. There is provision for reimbursement for the expenses of teams taking part in the semi-finals and finals, but there is no guarantee that they will be fully reimbursed and several sources report that such expenses could reach up to £50,000, depending on the location they need to travel to.” .

This decision therefore has pros and cons: on the one hand every club receives something, even those that only take part in the first part of the competition; on the other hand, the merits and efforts of the teams that reach the final stage are not particularly rewarded, with the paradoxical risk that, if a team that is not financially solid reached the end, it would find itself in difficulty having to incur expenses greater than the actual revenues.

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