royalblue
11/06/2005, 9:49 PM
Linfield are making a mint?
Money, money, money
Blues rolling in it after series of lucrative games
By Stuart McKinley
sportseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
11 June 2005
LINFIELD will start the new season a cool £500,000 better off than they were at the end of the last campaign.
The £105,000 the Blues banked by winning the Setanta Cup last month is just the tip of the iceberg - and the other money will come in without having to play another competitive match.
On top of the prize money from the Setanta Cup victory, Linfield will also receive a share of the gate from the final against Shelbourne.
Their reward from winning the league in 2004 - and subsequent qualification to play in the early rounds of the Champions League - is a windfall of 230,000 Swiss Francs from UEFA, which converts to around £100,000.
The Champions League pot isn't divided up until the competition is concluded and the Blues are expected to receive their money from the 2004-05 tournament any day.
They will net at least a further £100,000 when Rangers play a friendly at Windsor Park next month.
Gate receipts from that match are expected to reach more than double that, but the Scottish Champions will claim half the money as their fee for coming to Belfast.
Under the Blues' rental agreement with the Irish FA for Northern Ireland games, the club receives 15% of the income from home internationals at Windsor Park and after last weekend's friendly with Germany they are expected to pocket £100,000 from television rights alone.
With gate receipts and other money taken into account that figure will rise to at least £150,000.
The half-a-million pounds will mean Linfield can now write-off the £220,00 loss made last year and they can look forward to even more money coming their way.
There are four more international games scheduled before the end of the year and they are all expected to be sell-outs.
Linfield's cash flow
£105,000 For beating Shelbourne in the Setanta Cup final
£100,000
For qualifying for the 2005/6 Champions League
£100,000
Estimated gate receipts from Rangers friendly in July
£150,000
Estimated 'take' from visit of Germany to Windsor Park
What do you think, why cant they go professional with this sort of income.
Money, money, money
Blues rolling in it after series of lucrative games
By Stuart McKinley
sportseditor@belfasttelegraph.co.uk
11 June 2005
LINFIELD will start the new season a cool £500,000 better off than they were at the end of the last campaign.
The £105,000 the Blues banked by winning the Setanta Cup last month is just the tip of the iceberg - and the other money will come in without having to play another competitive match.
On top of the prize money from the Setanta Cup victory, Linfield will also receive a share of the gate from the final against Shelbourne.
Their reward from winning the league in 2004 - and subsequent qualification to play in the early rounds of the Champions League - is a windfall of 230,000 Swiss Francs from UEFA, which converts to around £100,000.
The Champions League pot isn't divided up until the competition is concluded and the Blues are expected to receive their money from the 2004-05 tournament any day.
They will net at least a further £100,000 when Rangers play a friendly at Windsor Park next month.
Gate receipts from that match are expected to reach more than double that, but the Scottish Champions will claim half the money as their fee for coming to Belfast.
Under the Blues' rental agreement with the Irish FA for Northern Ireland games, the club receives 15% of the income from home internationals at Windsor Park and after last weekend's friendly with Germany they are expected to pocket £100,000 from television rights alone.
With gate receipts and other money taken into account that figure will rise to at least £150,000.
The half-a-million pounds will mean Linfield can now write-off the £220,00 loss made last year and they can look forward to even more money coming their way.
There are four more international games scheduled before the end of the year and they are all expected to be sell-outs.
Linfield's cash flow
£105,000 For beating Shelbourne in the Setanta Cup final
£100,000
For qualifying for the 2005/6 Champions League
£100,000
Estimated gate receipts from Rangers friendly in July
£150,000
Estimated 'take' from visit of Germany to Windsor Park
What do you think, why cant they go professional with this sort of income.