How much is winning the Championship play-off final worth?

Victors win more than a trophy and a place in the Premier League

Alex Pattle
Saturday 29 May 2021 11:09 EDT
Comments
Fulham were last season’s Championship play-off final winners
Fulham were last season’s Championship play-off final winners (Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The Championship play-off final takes place on Saturday as Brentford and Swansea City bid for a place in the Premier League.

The fixture, which will be taking place at Wembley as has been customary in recent years, is one of the most lucrative games in all of football.

A spot in England’s top flight is not all that is on the line, with the winning side receiving a significant sum of money, too.

Ahead of last year’s Championship play-off final, Deloitte reported that the victorious club could earn anywhere between £135million and £265m, depending on whether or not they could avoid immediate relegation from the Premier League.

Official numbers from the 2018/19 Premier League campaign revealed that all 20 clubs received a share of broadcast revenue totalling £2.4bn. Each team were given £34.3m each, £43m in international TV money and £4.9m in commercial payments – equalling £82.5m in total per club, regardless of where they finished in the league.

League positions were factored in elsewhere, however, with the 20th-placed side in 2018/19 – Huddersfield Town – receiving £1.9m in prize money and champions Manchester City earning £38.3m. ‘Facility fees’, based on how many televised games a team competed in, also played a role.

Brentford were beaten 2-1 by Fulham in last season’s final, as the Bees missed out on all of that potential revenue.

Fulham were relegated this term, however, meaning they did not earn as much as they could have from their victory over Brentford – per Deloitte’s report – despite a parachute payment for their drop back into the second tier.

Brentford will hope to make amends for that defeat this Saturday, with Swansea standing between the Bees and the Premier League – and a significant amount of money.

It should be noted, however, that the effects of the coronavirus pandemic are expected to have impacted the various revenue streams.

Whoever wins between Brentford and Swansea on Saturday will join Championship title-winners Norwich and runners-up Watford in climbing into the Premier League, with those two sides having earned automatic promotion.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in