European minnows call for fairer distribution of UEFA prize money

European football leagues are demanding a "substantial, if not radical" overhaul of how revenue from UEFA club competitions is distributed, aiming to curb the increasing dominance of the continent's wealthiest clubs.

Under the current system, a significant 74 per cent of the revenue allocated to participating clubs – amounting to 2.437 billion euro (£2.1bn) – is directed to the 36 teams competing in the Champions League.

In stark contrast, clubs not involved in European competitions collectively receive just 308 million euros (£265.8m), representing a mere seven per cent of the total revenue pot.

Claudius Schafer, president of the European Leagues group, described the resulting "polarisation" between clubs inside and outside European competitions as an "urgent situation" impacting domestic leagues.

He stressed that UEFA has a "statutory duty to address" this imbalance. Schafer warned that if left unaddressed, the issue would become "insurmountable" in some leagues, admitting it "probably already was insurmountable" in certain cases.

The Bulgarian First League, where Ludogorets has secured 14 consecutive titles, serves as a potential illustration of this trend, though their 15th may be in doubt.

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Ferencvaros' Ibrahim Cisse and Ludogorets Razgrad's Brazilian forward #77 Erick Marcus vie for the ball during the UEFA Europa League knockout round playoff second leg football match Ferencvaros v Ludogorets Razgrad in Budapest, Hungary (AFP via Getty Images)

While the leagues intend to raise their concerns with UEFA, the prospect of meaningful change appears slim, given the considerable influence wielded by Europe’s top clubs through the European Football Clubs (EFC) group.

The current model appears to bake in the wealth of the biggest clubs, with 35 per cent of the revenue to participating Champions League teams put in something called the ‘value pillar’ which awards money based on a team’s historical performance and the size of that team’s UEFA television deal.

European Leagues general secretary Alberto Colombo said tweaking around the edges on the solidarity percentage would not be sufficient to address the issue.

“We are asking that there is a substantial change, if not a radical change, in the way that the revenue distribution is applied to international competition, because this is the sole way to safeguard the ecosystem,” he said.

Schafer was asked how he would convince big clubs to go along with this, as it was put to him that accepting lower prize money would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

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Pafos FC played Chelsea during their first outing in the Champions League (Getty Images)

“If you see the outcome, you have to recognise that if we are moving again in this direction that we did now in the past, and in the present, that will lead to big, big problems in different countries.”

Discussions on revenue distribution for the 2027 to 2031 cycle are live, and Schafer reminded UEFA of its role in ensuring the overall health of European football.

“When you read the statutes of UEFA, solidarity is one of the main objectives, to see that we have an ecosystem that is working for everybody and not only for a handful of clubs. So it’s on us now to show in those working groups that we (need to) have these changes, but it will be a challenge, I agree.”