Play-off final is worth £90m to the winners

The winner of tomorrow's Coca-Cola Championship play-off final between Cardiff and Blackpool will secure a staggering prize of £90million in new funds, according to analysts.

Deloitte say the income from TV, sponsorship, gate receipts - and parachute payments if they are relegated from the Premier League - has risen by 50% compared to last year.

The bumper new Premier League television deal, thanks to record overseas rights sales, is behind the rise.

Paul Rawnsley, director of the sports business group at Deloitte, said: "The Championship play-off final winners will benefit from at least £40million of additional revenue in 2010/11, the vast majority of this coming from television income and the rest from higher gate receipts and increased commercial income.

"In addition, even if a club is relegated after one year in the Premier League, parachute payments may be received over the following four seasons of up to £48million.

"In financial terms, this match offers the winning club the most substantial prize in world football and the value is now even greater as a result of the Premier League's increased revenues from international broadcast rights and the extended parachute payments over four seasons.

"It is a prize which provides the opportunity for sound investment and strengthening the foundations of a club for years to come."

Blackpool's president Valery Belokon has promised to distribute a pot of £5million - dependent on appearances over the season - between the players if they make it to the Premier League.

Over the past 10 years, 17 of the 30 newly-promoted clubs have managed to retain their Premier League status for more than one season.

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

On The Road at the Giro d’Italia: It sounds sadistic, but the team live for the mountain stages

Three weeks ago as I drove off the Eurostar, I remember thinking what a very long time it was until ...

by Martin Ayres

iBet: Rose has the ammunition for Wentworth

McDowell did brilliantly to land the World Match Play title in Bulgaria last week, but it’s a format...

by Gareth Purnell

Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!

Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!

by Luke Wilkins

       
Career Services

Day In a Page

James Pembroke: The man who's eaten everywhere

The man who's eaten everywhere

Few people know more about restaurants than James Pembroke, who only spent five mealtimes at home during his entire childhood.
A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

A Berliner in 1963 – but did John F Kennedy once admire Adolf Hitler?

The young JFK praised 'superior' Nordic races during visits to Germany
Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

Seeing the larger picture: Inspiring images of space

An exhibition explores images how photography has shaped astronomy
Eat Spam and carry on: Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating

Eat Spam and carry on

Wartime pamphlets could teach us a thing or two about healthy, thrifty eating
The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

The 10 Best salt and pepper sets

Whether they're for everyday use or to make your dining table look just right, it's worth getting a stylish shaker...
Giro d'Italia: The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

The Stelvio Pass - cycling's killer climb

As the Giro d'Italia tackles the brutal climb, Simon Usborne takes on the snow and switchbacks – and soon realises what the fuss is about
National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment