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10 Things You Need to Know About The Richest Game In Football – The Championship Playoff Final!

What is football’s richest game? By that, we mean the match that will ensure the winner receives the biggest annual cash payout available in the modern game?

You may think it is the Champions League Final. This is a good guess, but incorrect. It is actually now third on the list of what is the richest game in terms of revenue alone.

Nor is it any of the World Cup Final, European Championships Finals or Copa America finals. Nor indeed any of the African Cup of Nations or Asian Cup final games. As prestigious as these are, the financial rewards are minimal compared to the prestige of winning the trophy.

Perhaps it is the new $1bn sponsored FIFA World Club Cup Final? Well, you are not far wrong. This is now second on the list with the winners set to rake in up to $125 million if they manage to win the inaugural event in June/July 2025.

So, in purely fiscal terms, what is the richest game in football?

The answer still remains the Championship Playoff Final. And oddly enough, it isn’t even contested between two teams from the highest division in English soccer.

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How Is The Championship Playoff Final the Richest Game?

It seems strange that a match that decides promotion to the Premier League offers more financial reward than a major trophy such as the Champions League or the new FIFA Club World Cup.

But here’s how the finances work out for the three competitions:

Champions League Finances

New Champions League Format
Champions League Payments

For the Champions League, teams earn money from the tournament in several ways.

  • Broadcaster Revenue
  • Champions League Coefficient rankings (1-32)
  • Qualifying for the Group Stage
  • Points won in Group Stage
  • Stage of Knockout Phase reached (if applicable)

The amount won by teams varies a great deal depending on these varying factors.

However, it is not unusual for the Champions League winners to take home a total cash prize of between £60m to £80m from the tournament. So while winning the Champions League is lucrative, it is by no means the richest game in the world.

FIFA Club World Cup

The $1bn prize fund is divided into two sections, all of which go to the 32 clubs competing. $525m is shared between the teams for participation in the tournament, and $425m is based on performances.

Estimates are that the tournament winners could earn up to $125m in prize money. Dwarfing the amount the teams in the Champions League can win.

However, it should be noted that this tournament is played once every four years, whereas the Champions League is played every season. So, a successful team in the Champions League will likely earn more from that competition in four years than they would even if they won the FIFA Club World Cup.

Championship Playoff Financial Implications for the Winner

As you can see, the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup offer extensive riches to the best-performing teams in these competitions.

However, the financial implications of winning the Championship Playoff, rather than the  game itself, are what makes this the richest game in world football.

That is because the winning team does not receive a financial reward as a direct result of winning the game. In fact, they may well lose money, as tradition dictates that the losing team keeps the gate receipts from the game.

But what makes this game the richest in the football world is what winning offers the victors, and it has everything to do with the big money available by reaching the Premier League.

The playoff winners will immediately benefit from the following by becoming a new member of the Premier League: –

  • Fixed Equal Share Payment (£95m per club)
  • Merit Based Payment based on Final League Position. (£3.1m to £63.4m)
  • Fixed Commercial Revenue Payment (£8.2m per club)
  • Variable Facility Fees Payment (between £10m & £29m)

The fixed Equal Share payment alone is currently £95m. This covers domestic TV agreements and international TV agreements. When the minimum possible amount a club can earn from both income streams is combined, it means that the minimum a team can earn from playing one season in the Premier League is around £109 million.

That’s close to £30m more for the bottom club in the Premier League, than the Champions League winners (£80m). And it is more than the winners of the FIFA Club World Cup will receive as a maximum amount ($125m is equivalent to £97m).

Richest Game

However, that’s not all. If a club finishes higher up the table and is shown on TV more often, their total payments can easily exceed £100m. These are the Variable Facility Fees payments.

In 2024/25, Manchester City earned £175.9 million from their Premier League performance alone, more than double what they earned by winning the Champions League a couple of years before. And that revenue came in one season.

A team coming into the Premier League through the playoffs is unlikely to be a top six team, but If a Playoff winner can stay in the EPL, then they can earn at least £120m+ every year that they remain in the top-flight. With that amount increasing the higher they finish up the table.

Even if they are relegated, they are eligible for parachute payments for the following three seasons, which amount to tens of millions of pounds extra for that team.

Therefore, taking all these income streams and the methods by which the funds are distributed, including parachute payments, then a single season in the Premier League for a Championship winner will likely earn them over £150m, and for every season they remain in the Premier League, that amount is only likely to increase.

Hence, the Championship playoff is rightfully known as the richest game in football.

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10 Things To Know About The Championship Playoff Final – The richest game in the world

  1. The Championship Playoff Final is played yearly at Wembley on the late May bank holiday weekend.
  2. A trophy is awarded to all Playoff Final winners in the Championship, League One and League Two. This means that the Divisional Champions and the Playoff winners receive a trophy, however teams that achieve automatic promotion without winning the league, or going through the playoffs, do not.
  3. The First Playoffs were held in 1987 and the first three were contested over two legs, home and away. This was changed to a single playoff final played at Wembley in 1990.
  4. The most successful team in Championship Playoff history is Crystal Palace. They have achieved promotion by winning the playoff final on four occasions (1989, 1997, 2004 and 2013).
  5. The highest-scoring Championship Playoff Final was in 1998, when Charlton and Sunderland fought out a 4-4 draw after extra time. Clive Mendonca scored a hat-trick for the Addicks. Charlton won 7-6 on penalties after extra time. The match is widely regarded as one of the best games ever played at Wembley Stadium.
  6. Reading, Derby County, and Sheffield United have the unenviable record of the most Championship Playoff Final defeats, with three each.
  7. Brentford (2020 and 2021), West Ham (2004 and 2005) Crystal Palace (1996 and 1997) and Leicester City (1993 and 1994) are the four teams to have lost the Championship Playoff Final in one year and then won it the following year.
  8. Only one team has won the Championship Playoff Final a year after winning the League One Playoff Final. Notts County achieved that feat winning the League One Playoff Final 2-0 over Tranmere Rovers in 1990 and then the Championship Playoff Final 3-1 over Brighton in 1991.
  9. Only two teams have won the playoffs one year, then been relegated from the Premier League the next, followed by another playoff victory in the following year. They were Leicester City (from 1994 to 1996) and Fulham (from 2018 to 2020). Southampton could join this select group in the 2025/26 season if they were to gain promotion via the playoffs in the 2025/26 season.
  10. Only one team has won the Championship Playoff final and not been promoted to the Premier League. That was Swindon Town in 1990. They beat Sunderland 1-0 at Wembley, but due to financial irregularities, they were forced to remain in the Championship, with Sunderland being promoted instead.  

The Championship Playoff Final is the season's finale, and few games have as much drama and excitement as the richest game in football!

As such, you can find a huge amount of betting on this massive game at the end of May every year at bet365 Sport!

Edited & Updated – 5th May 2025.

18+ Always remember to gamble responsiblyCheck out bet365’s Safer Gambling page for more details or go to GambleAware.org for advice, tools and support.

Ian John -

Sports Writer and Reviewer

Ian John is a seasoned Sports Writer and UK gambling expert with over a decade of experience at Bonus Code Poker. For the past 10 years, he has been providing readers with insightful analysis and expert opinions on sports betting and poker.

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