AHEAD OF THE GAME: UEFA Loses MILLIONS at Women’s Euro 2022… and Amazon’s surprising conquest of Champions League rights is inspired by the success of rugby coverage
The Women’s European Championship costs UEFA millions despite record number of people
Amazon’s conquest of Champions League rights inspired by their rugby coverage
Crystal Palace could miss out on commercial bonuses due to vaccine hesitancy
Arsenal and FA are in the dark about mysterious Granit Xhaka booking
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Euro 2022 is expected to see a loss of several million despite sold-out crowds across much of the country, indicative of the ongoing financial challenges facing the women’s game.
UEFA will absorb the losses by dipping into the surplus from last year’s men’s tournament, which generated record turnover of £1.6bn.
UEFA remains committed to women’s football despite the commercial challenges and has doubled the prize money for the euro – to £13.5 million – from the previous tournament, and allocated £3.8 million to European clubs a release fee of £420 a day to pay for the use of their players.
UEFA reportedly loses millions over Women’s Euros despite record attendances
Champions League rights inspired by rugby
Amazon’s surprise takeover of live Champions League rights for the 2024 to 2027 cycle was based on the success of their coverage of rugby’s fall internationals, demonstrating the streaming service’s impressive presence in UK homes.
Amazon is keeping their ratings a secret, but Sportsmail has learned that England’s 32-15 win over Australia last November was watched by a peak audience of around three million, which is nearly six times the average Sky Sports audience for international rugby. .
Amazon has secured the first roster of Champions League matches on Tuesday evening after 2024 and will be sure to attract more large audiences.
The success of Amazon’s rugby coverage inspired their acquisition of Champions League rights
Vaccine hesitation could cost Palace
Crystal Palace are at risk of losing tour fees and commercial bonuses due to their players’ reluctance to vaccinate after embarking on a pre-season trip to Singapore and Australia with a weakened squad.
The organizers of games against Liverpool – which Palace lost 2-0 yesterday – were assured that Palace would bring a strong squad, but only eight senior outfield players have made the trip, putting the club at risk of defaulting on their commitments.
The vaccination status of some of the omitted players did not meet Australian requirements.
Patrick Vieira’s side could miss out on commercial bonuses due to vaccine statuses
Arsenal left in the dark over mysterious booking
Arsenal and the FA have been kept in the dark about the infamous Granit Xhaka booking which, as Sportsmail revealed last month, is now the subject of a criminal investigation.
The Gambling Commission made the decision to escalate the investigation into the Arsenal midfielder’s bizarre yellow card against Leeds in December to the National Crime Agency and the FA investigators are no longer involved in the case.
The FA launched an investigation after being warned of suspicious betting patterns that Xhaka had been booked in the game at Elland Road, with a £52,000 bet on the outcome.
Xhaka was shown a yellow card in the 86th minute for wasting time.
Granit Xhaka’s infamous yellow card against Leeds is now subject to criminal investigation