Source :
http://www.soccerway.com/news/full/?pag ... 1118551336
The richest game on Earth
Written by Mohaned Al Assaad
LONDON, June 11 (SW) - In the traditional annual financial review of the football season, the famous global accountancy firm Deloitte have confirmed again that the Championship play-off final is the, ‘richest game on earth’.
No other fixture can rival it in financial terms bringing into the winning club a monetary prize reward of 50 million euros (approximately £35 million sterling). The winning team this year was West Ham United who saw off Preston North End to gain promotion to the Premiership.
The funds gained from this single game are higher than what Liverpool earned for winning the Champions League or for what league champions earn in any football league in the world.
The sum is made up of the revenue given for promotion, the guaranteed sums for the performance in the coming Premiership season, ticket sales and sponsorship, and the improved revenue given by the FA amongst other channels that contribute to it.
West Ham was a team suffering from losing the majority of its players when just before and mostly after they were relegated from the top flight some two years ago. The names of the departed players some say reads like a list of who’s who among an all stars team.
Departures have included Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe, Frédéric Kanouté, Joe Cole, Glen Johnson, David James, Michael Carrick and Trevor Sinclair. Past graduates have also included the world’s most expensive defender Rio Ferdinand.
The sales marked a dramatic reduction in the club’s debts, which were one of the highest at the time. Now, the Hammers can look forward to a marked return to the top where they feel they belong. With the additional £15 million promised for new players from the men upstairs, it is clearly evident that this is a team planning to become strong contenders and Premiership regulars.
