575 European clubs to receive a share from the UEFA EURO 2012 benefits

In total, 575 clubs will receive payments, in accordance with the renewed Memorandum of Understanding which was signed between ECA and UEFA in March 2012. This represents a substantial increase in beneficiaries when compared to the distribution after UEFA EURO 2008, for which 180 clubs received payments.

With €100m available for UEFA EURO 2012, €40m has been reserved for those clubs which released players for the qualifying matches, while the remaining €60m has been distributed to the clubs which released players for the final tournament. In accordance with the detailed distribution mechanism agreed between UEFA and the ECA, clubs receive an equal share per player released for each qualifying match, and a fixed amount per player per day, weighted with the FIFA categorisation of clubs for training compensation(see details below).

The top five clubs benefiting from solidarity payments from UEFA EURO 2012 are:

In order to be eligible for a share of the benefits from UEFA EURO 2012, clubs were asked to fill in, sign and return a club application form to UEFA, in which they agreed in particular to support national team competitions and to comply with the FIFA regulations on the release of players.

For the full list of the clubs, and the total amount received by each club, see attached document.

Commenting on the solidarity payments, ECA Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, said: 

     "The European Club Association is pleased that its contribution to the success of UEFA EURO 2012 has been recognised and justly rewarded by UEFA. This shows the excellent relationship that exists within the football family in Europe, as we work hand in hand to shape the future of our game."

Michel Platini, President of UEFA, said: 

     "I am delighted that we are able to provide clubs with financial benefits from UEFA EURO 2012 to reward their contribution to the competition. We witnessed a truly fantastic UEFA European Football Championship final round this summer, and I am pleased that the clubs can now also be associated with the event."

For UEFA EURO 2016, the target total amount to be distributed is set at €150m.

Participation of clubs in the benefits of UEFA EURO 2012 - Distribution mechanism

1. Qualifying competition (€40m)

For the qualifying competition, the concept is to reward the actual release of the players. Each club that released a player to the national team for a qualifying match (incl. play-offs) receives a fixed amount per player per day. Only players who were listed on the match sheet (maximum of 18 players per team) will be taken into account.

The exact amounts are as follows:

National teams of Poland and Ukraine: As the national teams of Poland and Ukraine did not play any qualifying matches, the ten friendly matches played by each of these two national teams on qualifying match dates (excluding play-off match dates) were taken into account. However, only players who were fielded either as starters or substitutes during these matches were taken into consideration.

2. Final tournament (€60m)

A club's share of this amount is calculated based on:

The exact amounts are as follows:

Injured players: For a player included in the original squad list of 23 players who was injured and replaced before the first match of his national team, payment will only be made for the number of days the player was present during the two weeks before the first match of his national team. For the player who replaced the injured player, payment will be made from the day of replacement until the day after the national team's last match in the final tournament.

[1] The categorisation of clubs is as follows:

Category one: First-division clubs from ENG, ESP, FRA, GER, ITA and NED

Category two: First-division clubs from BEL, DEN, GRE, POR, RUS, SCO, SUI, SWE, TUR, UKR and second-division clubs from ENG, FRA, GER and ITA

Category three: First-division clubs from CRO, CZE, ISR, POL, ROU and third- and lower-division clubs from ENG