Italy Wins Euro 2020, Taking Home Over €30 Million

Hey friends,

With both countries looking to win their first European Championship in more than 50-plus years — Italy last won in 1968 & England has never won — something had to give.

Much to the disappointment of English football fans chanting “It’s coming home,” it was Italy that claimed its second Euro title in a 3-2 shootout win (after a 1-1 draw) at Wembley Stadium yesterday.

But outside of bragging rights and a lifetime of memories, what does winning the UEFA European Football Championship actually get you, financially?

Similar to other domestic and international competitions, teams competing in Euro 2020 accumulate more money the farther they get in the tournament.

In total, 24 teams were fighting for a total prize pot of €371 million ($440 million) this year — up 22% from the €304 million prize pot at Euro 2016.

Here’s how it works: Each team wins €9.25 million simply for qualifying for this year’s competition, while group-stage wins (€1.5 million) and draws (€750,000) each come with prize money attached.

Even better? In addition to the €20-plus million they won for qualifying and wins throughout the tournament, Italy also took home an extra €10 million for winning yesterday’s final. That brings their total haul to over €30 million.

Prize Money By Position

• Winner: €10 million

• Runner-up: €7 million

• Semifinalists: €5 million

• Quarterfinalists: €3.25 million

• Round of 16: €2 million

• Group match victory: €1.5 million

• Group match draw: €750,000

• Group stage: €9.25 million

But while international play is still generally seen solely as a badge of honor for the world’s best players, the prize money is now getting too large to ignore. For example, since 1992, the total prize money per tournament has increased more than 1,200 percent.

Total Prize Money Distributed

• 1992 Sweeden: €28 million

• 1996 England: €66 million

• 2000 Netherlands & Belgium: €77 million

• 2004 Portugal: €129 million

• 2008 Switzerland & Austria: €184 million

• 2012 Poland & Ukraine: €196 million

• 2016 France: €301 million

• 2020 Pan-Europe: €371 million

The key to monetary growth has been expansion.

In 1980, the European Championships expanded to include 8 countries for the first time. Then, almost two decades later, in 1996, the tournament expanded again. This time, 16 countries were included.

Despite protests that additional countries might water-down the quality of competition, the tournament expanded to include 24 countries in 2016.

Ultimately, team payouts have increased at an accelerated pace due to the impressive top-line revenue growth of UEFA’s Euro Championships.

For example, the prior tournament — EURO 2016 in France — brought in almost €2 billion through a combination of media rights, sponsorships/licensing, and matchday revenues.

EURO 2016 Revenue Breakdown

• Media Rights: €1.05 billion (~55%)

• Sponsorships/Licensing: €480 million (~25%)

• Matchday Revenues: €400 million (~20%)

Between 1992 and 2016, total tournament revenue grew by a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 17%.

In the end, the biggest winners might be the cities/stadiums chosen to host games.

You can debate the actual economic impact and even the budget constraint of potential visitors. Still, with millions of out-of-town visitors converging on cities to spend millions of dollars on tickets, hotels, parking, restaurants, and other tourism activities, the boom created within local economies is undeniable.

With this year’s tournament spanning across Europe, that means more countries, venues, and local economies benefitted than ever before.

But here’s my favorite stat: The British Beer and Pub Association estimated that nearly 13 million pints would be bought during England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy – equating to an astonishing 1,000 pints a second.

Have a great day, and I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.

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