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Pulse Sports highlights the most lucrative football competitions on the globe based on what the winners pocket.
Over the years, football has become a lucrative sport that is generating billions of dollars for teams, players and organisations.
Footballers are now some of the richest athletes on the globe thanks to the big money that exists in the sport.
With the global appeal of the beautiful game, sponsorships and broadcast rights have increased, leading to a rise in salaries and prize money.
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That has seen a number of football competitions rise not just in stature but in prize money. So, which are the football competitions that pay the most?
Top 10 Richest Football Competitions in the World and How Much Winners Earn
10. UEFA Euro
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UEFA competitions are among the richest in the world with three on the list, starting with the Euro, contested by European nations.
The competition has been growing in stature and now has global appeal given the superstars who grace it and winners pocket up to $33 million.
To reach the amount, a team will need to win all its group matches, and all the other stages up to the final, which pays $9.39 million.
9. Europa League
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Another UEFA competition on the list of the richest football competitions in the world is the Europa League which is Europe’s second-tier club competition.
Though less prestigious compared to the Champions League, Europa League winners pocket $40 million which also comes from money generated through TV deals, sponsorships while it increases as teams advance to the latter stages.
8. FIFA World Cup
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The FIFA World Cup has been increasing in strength as well as the prize money with its global appeal seeing a rise in TV and sponsorship deals as well as the prize money.
From as low as the $2.2 million awarded to Italy when they won the 1982 edition to the $20 million that went to them when they won the 2006 World Cup, the prize pool has grown and in 2022, Argentina received $42 million for winning the trophy.
The money comes from a participation fee, bonuses for wins and draws while it increases as the teams progress past the group stages.
7. Ligue 1
The French league joins the list of richest football competitions in the world although its prize money is dwarfed by their European counterparts in Spain and England.
Ligue 1 TV rights declined significantly after Mediapro’s withdrawal but they are expected to recover in the next cycle.
The money comes from domestic TV rights (Amazon Prime and Canal+) as well as performance and marketing pool contributions.
6. Serie A
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Italian top flight the Serie A makes the list of the richest football competitions in the world with a prize of $75 million going to its winners.
This is thanks to a TV rights deal worth €2.5 billion for the 2021-2024 period with Sky Sports Italia and DAZN. The money is distributed based on final rankings and European qualification incentives.
5. Bundesliga
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German top flight the Bundesliga is one of the richest football competitions in the world with its winners picketing $82 million, 10 of which have gone to Bayern Munich in the last 11 years.
A large portion of the money comes from broadcast rights with around €4.4 billion over four years (2021-2025), shared among the 18 clubs.
4. FIFA Club World Cup
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The latest entrant on the list is the expanded FIFA Club World Cup that was revamped from the initial eight teams to 32 starting in the summer of 2025 in the United States.
To make the competition more attractive, FIFA made it one of the highest paying in the world with winners Chelsea awarded a record $125 million.
Teams at the FIFA Club World Cup were guaranteed a lot in participating fees and the money increased as they advanced to the latter stages while wins and draws also attracted $2 million and $1 million each at the group stage.
3. UEFA Champions League
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Ever wondered why every club in Europe wants to be in the UEFA Champions League? Well, it is not just for prestige or the famous anthem but rather the money involved.
In the Champions League, there is so much money that winning the competition can earn a club up to $127 million, depending on their journey through it all.
Tournament organisers UEFA distributes the money based on market pool (based on country TV deal size), coefficient ranking bonus, participation bonus and performance-based wins and draws.
2. La Liga
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Spanish top division, La Liga, awards up to $158 million to its champions, thanks to centralized TV rights (redistributed among clubs based on performance and audience) with Real Madrid and Barcelona always getting the lion’s share of the money.
La Liga has generated €2 billion over the 2022-2027 cycle while there is more coming from domestic sponsorship and bonuses which boosts its coffers significantly.
1. English Premier League
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By far the richest football competition in the world, the English Premier League has been growing from strength to strength with the increase in TV rights, both domestic and international, boosting its standing.
No league or football competition can match the global appeal of the Premier League, which has record-breaking global TV contracts, with over $10 billion generated for the 2022-2025 cycle.
With money from the TV rights, prize money based on final league position and solidarity payments as well as merit-based bonuses, the Premier League pays $221 million to its winners, a colossal amount that no football competition in the world can match.