Cork City will receive a minimum of €800,000 for participating in this year's Champions League qualifying after the breakdown in prize money for this year's competition was announced today.
City will enter the first round unseeded with the quality of the opponent hugely dependent on their fortune in the draw, but they will be guaranteed a huge windfall regardless of the result.
Cork’s breakdown is €280,000 for being entered into the first round.
However, if defeated, they will be entered into the second round of Europa League qualifying which will see them earn another €260,000.
Any domestic champion that then doesn’t qualify for a group stage will be handed €260,000 in a solidarity payment.
A victory in a Champions League first round or Europa League second round game would take their guaranteed total over €1.1million.
Dundalk, Shamrock Rovers and Derry City will enter at the first round stage of Europa League qualifying, each receiving €240,000 for entering that round.
The Lilywhites will be the only seeded Irish club thanks to their exploits two seasons ago. Last season the total for reaching that stage was €215,000.
Victory will again add €260,000 to prize money total, meaning it would be €500,000 overall for simply reaching the second round. That's an increase of €60,000 from last season.
The Lilywhites could be seeded for the second round and a win for any of the Irish clubs at that stage would guarantee a further €280,000 and €780,000 overall.
Should an Irish club reach a group stage, there would be a guaranteed €2.95m for Europa or €15m for Champions League, and that would dramatically increase from a host of other revenues.
The prize for winning the Premier Division title is just €110,000, with European revenues representing a huge part of income for the top four clubs, leaving others struggling to compete.
