Women’s Champions League: Arsenal could cash in on prize money
On Saturday evening in Lisbon, Arsenal Women will be hoping to win their second Champions League title.
Between the Gunners and the trophy stand three-time winners Barcelona, who thrashed WSL champions Chelsea 8-2 in the semi-finals.
The Champions League has been lucrative for Arsenal Women, and winning the final could boost their finances even further.
Uefa Women’s Champions League prize money
Uefa guarantees a participation fee of €400,000 (£340,000), plus €50,000 (£42,500) for every group stage win, €17,000 (£14,450) for each group stage draw, and €20,000 (£17,000) if a team win their group.
Qualifying for the quarter-finals is worth €160,000 (£136,000) and going to the semi-finals comes with an additional €180,000 (£153,000). Reaching the final adds €200,000 (£170,000), while winning the trophy guarantees additional earnings of €350,000 (£297,500).
Arsenal’s potential earnings
Arsenal’s prize money total so far includes the participation fee, plus €250,000 (£210,000) for their five group stage wins and €20,000 (£16,800) for winning their group, in addition to money for going all the way to the final.
That means the team’s Champions League prize money to date stands at €1.21m (£1.02m), and winning the final against the Spanish champions would take Arsenal’s overall earnings to €1.56m (£1.32m).
The English side have also benefited from additional matchday revenue from their Champions League campaign, having played five home games in the competition this season. One of them was played at 4,500-capacity stadium Meadow Park and the other four at the Emirates Stadium.
Looking at Arsenal’s lowest ticket prices and the attendance across all home Champions League fixtures they played this season, we can approximate a conservative uplift of £1.1m as a result of their Champions League run.
This takes Arsenal’s overall earnings off the back of the Champions League this season to more than £2.4m.
Can Barcelona do better?
Barcelona also won five of their six group stage games and topped their group, making their earnings on the way to the final identical to the Gunners’. Winning the Champions League final would lead to the same sum of €1.56m (£1.32m).
However, the Spanish side’s matchday revenue is estimated to be significantly lower than Arsenal’s due to their smaller crowds. Barcelona had an average attendance of 9,435 across all their Champions League home games this season – far less than Arsenal’s 16,304.
Four of Barcelona’s home games were played at the Estadi Johan Cruyff, with a capacity of 6,000 spectators. One of their five home games was played at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, Barcelona’s temporary home as the Camp Nou is being renovated.
Based on lowest ticket prices and average attendance levels, Barcelona’s matchday revenue in this year’s Champions League is £360,000 at a minimum. As a result of their Champions League run this season, they are expected to make total earnings of at least £1.68m.
How much of a financial boost is it?
While welcome, the rewards for success in the Women’s Champions League are not as game-changing as in the men’s competition.
Barcelona and Arsenal were the highest revenue-generating women’s teams in the world in 2023-24, each generating €17.9m each (£15.2m).
Lifting the trophy, then, would represent roughly 10 per cent potential uplift, compared to around 15-25 per cent for men’s Champions League winners.