European clubs have agreed to distribute revenue from the Champions League and Europa League more evenly from next season, the European Clubs Association (ECA) and UEFA said yesterday.

The announcement comes amid concerns that the gulf between Europe’s richest clubs and the rest is widening, with the result that both domestic leagues and the Champions League itself are becoming increasingly repetitive and predictable.

“ECA and UEFA have together developed a revolutionary distribution mechanism for the Champions League and Europa League, aimed at sharing the competitions’ revenue growth more evenly among European clubs,” ECA and UEFA said in a joint statement.

“A record funding pot of €2.24 billion (per season) will be divided with a new focus on solidarity,” they added following an ECA meeting in Stockholm.

“A greater proportion of funds than ever before will go to UEFA Europa League participants, to participants in the qualifying rounds and to clubs in medium/smaller championships.

“The concept means more funding for all, because the new percentage-based system ensures that every stakeholder will benefit proportionally from the competitions’ continued growth.”

ECA said that more money would also be distributed to clubs who release players for Euro 2020 and that, for the first time, the amount would be calculated as a percentage rather than a fixed amount.

“ECA is still a very young organisation and these achievements are an extraordinary success, which will strengthen the solidarity among the clubs and our sense of responsibility for football,” said ECA chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, yesterday.

The prize money for the winner of the Champions League final will rise from €10.5m to €15 million, and the winner of the competition could earn a maximum of €54.5m in prize money plus TV cash from their share of the market pool.

Clubs outside group stage

Clubs eliminated prior to the group stage in the Champions League will receive the following amounts per round:

• €200,000 in the first qualifying round;

• €300,000 in the second qualifying round;

• €400,000 in the third qualifying round.

In addition, any domestic champion not qualified for the group stage of the Champions League will receive €250,000.

In the Europa League, the UEFA solidarity payments will amount to:

• €200,000 in the first qualifying round;

• €210,000 in the second qualifying round; • €220,000 in the third qualifying round.

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