The Croatian national football team has an opportunity to directly qualify for the 2024 European Championship by defeating Armenia in their upcoming match, set to take place at Maksimir Stadium on Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. This game holds significant financial implications for the Croatian Football Association, as a positive outcome could result in substantial earnings. According to UEFA’s data on budget distribution and potential income for national teams at the Euro in Germany, Croatia stands to earn 9.25 million euros just by qualifying for the tournament.
It is worth noting that UEFA did not increase the prize fund from the previous edition of the Euro, which was held in France and totaled 331 million euros. However, this year’s budget is expected to be 30 million more profitable than in 2016. UEFA anticipates earning a staggering 1.7 billion euros from the European Championship held in Germany in 2024, which represents a significant increase over the previous edition held in 2021, with earnings of only 600 million euros. Despite these higher expectations, it’s essential to consider that comparisons with previous editions are somewhat limited due to circumstances beyond UEFA’s control, such as holding the event during a global pandemic and across multiple countries rather than just one host country.
Another important aspect to consider is that UEFA expects significantly higher earnings compared to Euro 2016 but will allocate an unprecedented amount of money for countries that do not qualify for the European Championship. This sum amounts to an incredible 1.19 billion euros, while only 645 million euros were allocated for non-qualifying countries during Euro