Rovers to bank over €3m after reaching group stages in Europe

SHAMROCK Rovers have qualified for the conference league group stage after a 0-0 draw against Santa Clara in Tallaght Stadium last Thursday, winning the tie on aggregate 2-1 after victory in the Azores the week previous.

The result has ensured millions in the bank for Shamrock Rovers with the team earning over half a million from their performances in the qualifying rounds alone.

Now that they have qualified for the ‘league’ or group phase, Rovers will receive a sum of just over €3m as they participate in the next round of the competition.

On top of the €3m received they will also be viable to earn performance related bonuses depending on their results. €400,000 being awarded for every win the team manages and €133,000 for every draw.

With last year Rovers winning three games that would see them collect an extra €1.2m.

Finishing between ninth and 16th place generates a further €200,000 and reaching the knockout play off as they did last year would earn a further €200,000 also.

Clearly the potential for earning in the Conference League is huge and while the likes of Chelsea who won the tournament last year would think nothing of seemingly paltry amounts, for a League of Ireland team the figures are monumental.

Rovers will begin their European campaign this season on October 2nd when they travel to Czechia to take on Sparta Prague.

They have not been dealt an easy run of fixtures with the aforementioned Sparta Prague, AEK Athens and Shakhtar Donetsk all representing games that they will be heavy underdogs in.

For Rovers to get anything from those games would be an excellent return and they will be viewing the matchups against old foes Slovenian side Celje, Icelandic team Breiðablik and Maltese outfit Hamrun.