As most people know, the CONCACAF Champions' Cup had always been a winner-take-all event. The only revenue that a club could earn besides the home gate was the $1 million prize to the winner of the competition. I was hoping that the Champions League would offer a much better financial incentive to the competing teams, but it appears that that's not the case. The only difference between the Champions League and Champions' Cup is that CONCACAF now gives a stipend to the away team for expenses.
In my opinion, the current prize arrangement in the Champions League is not enough of a justification to have a Champions League-style competition in the first place. I could understand why the competition would be such a burden for the Caribbean clubs and to some extent the MLS teams, even with the away team stipend. I say that for just $5 million -- a very small amount in the soccer world, even in this region -- it is possible to organize a prize distribution scheme that would motivate the clubs from the smaller countries and keep the other teams interested as well.
My proposal for such an award scheme is as follows:
| | Prize Per Team | Total Prize |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | $1M | $1M |
| Runner-up | $500k | $500k |
| Semifinalist (2) | $250k | $500k |
| Quarterfinalist (4) |
$125k | $500k |
| Group Winner (4) | $100k | $400k |
| Group 2nd (4) | $50k | $200k |
| Group Stage Win (<48) | $20k | <$960k |
| Group Stage Draw (<48) | $10k | <$480k |
| Advance to Group Stage (16) | $50k | $800k |
| Total Prize Fund | <$4.86M |
In my scheme, there is an initial bonus for qualifying to the group stage, whether directly or via the preliminary round, and then there are performance bonuses in the group stage of the competition with additional prizes to those who advance to the knockout round. Escalating sums of money are awarded to those who exit after each round of the knockout round, and the $1 million prize remains for the winner.
Like I said, it's not a large amount of money for the Mexican clubs, and I'm certain that Copa Libertadores is much more lucrative. However, the prizes would be enough to make the MLS sides notice and it would be a huge incentive for the Caribbean and Central American clubs. And all for under $5 million in total purse money.
I'm not sure how much money CONCACAF are able to get from Mastercard, Nike, T-Mobile, and State Farm right now, but my guess is that five million dollars is not beyond the realm of possibility for a CONCACAF club tournament.
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