Apoel Cyprus eyes 12 mln eur boost from Champion’s League qualifier

Champion Apoel FC of Nicosia is set for a 12-million-euro windfall from its qualifier at GSP stadium on Tuesday night making it to the elite group of Europe’s 32 top having beaten Wizla Krakow 3-2 on aggregate.
Apoel will double its income this year from the 10.76 mln euros it expects to cash in from the champion’s crown bonus (200,000 euros), 2nd and 3rd preliminary stage games (260,000 euros), playoffs (2.1 mln) and the Champion’s League qualifier (8.2 mln).
In addition, the Nicosia team will earn television royalties and about 1.2 mln to 1.5 mln from ticket sales in the three home games in the next stage. A win will reward it with a further 800,000 euros and a draw will boost its coffers by another 400,000 euros.
So, even it fails to score a victory or equaliser, it will still cash in 12.26 mln euros.
This is the second time in three years that the Cyprus champion has gone through to the eight groups of four teams, having equalised in 2009 with giants Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and FC Porto, earning a bonus of 1.2 mln euros.
Sports commentators are bracing for the big draw in Monaco at 5.45pm on Thursday, where Apoel could face the kings of European football such as Barcelona, Manchester United, Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Porto.
However, coach Ivan Jovanovic is confident that he has a strong team including the Brazilian duo of Maduka who scored on Tuesday, and Copenhagen transfer Aylton who scored twice, having cost the Nicosia team a mere 600,000 euros last year.
The second-tier clubs that Apoel may face include Milan, Valencia and Lyon, while the Nicosia team could even be drawn with Olympiakos Piraeus, Fenerbahce or Manchester City.