Promotion worth 60 million squid

[magneto]

Report reveals promotion is worth £60million

 

LONDON, May 3 (Reuters) - The seven clubs competing for the remaining promotion slot to the English Premier League are fighting for more than just bragging rights - there is an unprecedented paycheck for the winners, too.

 

 

Promotion to the world's most lucrative soccer league will deliver as much as 60 million pounds ($120 million) - including 50 million pounds linked to a new TV deal - accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche said in a report on Thursday, the first published estimate of reaching the top tier.

 

'The Football League Championship Play-Off Final on 28 May will again represent the biggest financial prize in world football,' the report said.

 

Birmingham City and Sunderland have already won promotion and locked in their gains. Last year, teams promoted from the Championship, or second division, received 40 million pounds, the accountancy firm said.

 

Seven second-division clubs are still in the running to win the third promotion place, including Southampton, whose parent company, Leisure Holdings Plc, has said it had received a takeover offer.

 

Southampton, whose shares soared more than 30 percent after the announcement, has not named the suitor, and any bid is unlikely until after the play-offs, a source familiar with the situation said.

 

The four teams that will play in the promotion play-offs will be known after this weekend's league games, with the play-off final to be played in the new Wembley stadium on May 28.

 

'With seven Championship clubs still chasing a place in the play-offs, the final fixtures on Sunday promise drama and tension on the pitch, on the terraces and in the boardroom,' said Paul Rawnsley, director of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.

 

Interest in UK soccer clubs from U.S. tycoons has soared over the past two years because of rising ticket, marketing and television revenues.

 

The Premier League, the largest and most profitable in soccer, has doubled its sales to 2 billion euros ($2.73 billion) in five years, with matches being broadcast in more than 200 countries.

 

U.S. billionaires George Gillett and Tom Hicks bought Champions League finalists Liverpool earlier this year, while Texas oil magnate Malcolm Glazer bought league leaders Manchester United for 790 million pounds in 2005.

 

If clubs got 40 million each this season, why didn't the likes of Watford etc. buy better players to stay in the league (instead buying rubbish from other teams).