CYPRUS: APOEL kicks-off Europa League campaign with money in the bag

APOEL FC kicks-off its Europa League group stage campaign on Thursday eyeing possible prize money of €13 mln, while already bagging €11 mln from its exploits so far as the only Cyprus team left in Europe.

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The Nicosia outfit missed out on some €20 mln after being dumped out of the Champions League by Dutch champions Ajax in the play-offs.

Despite losing out one step before the golden group stage, APOEL still generated around €11 mln in revenue, making up for losses incurred from last year’s failure in Europe.

APOEL’s bank balance improved after securing some €5 mln from their participation in the CL playoff stage and another €2.92 mln for their participation in the Europa League Group stage.

The club will receive an additional €280,000 for participating in the second qualifying round of the Champions League and €380,000 for participating in the third qualifying round.

Still to be calculated is money that APOEL will receive from the country’s market pool, and a sum which will be calculated based on UEFA's special 10-year ranking coefficient.  APOEL is currently in 52nd place with 58,500 points.

As a result, the club is likely to add another couple of million to their prize money, reaching €11 mln, and that is without counting income from ticket sales and various sponsorships.

APOEL will also receive €570,000 for every victory in the Europa League group stage and €190,000 for every draw, which means APOEL could well pocket an amount of over €12 mln just from the group stage.

Income from APOEL’s European campaign may not suffice to cover the club’s €19 mln budget, but it will certainly go a long way.

APOEL faces Spanish side Sevilla FC who have won the tournament more times than any other team since its inception, taking the cup home five times, Azeri outfit Qarabaq FC and F91 Dudelange from Luxembourg whom they play on Thursday.